The Legacy: Knight Rising
by MrZ1289
Summary: After watching the brutal murder of his parents as a child, Bruce Wayne became the nightmare known only as Batman. UPDATE: As Bruce deals with the aftermath of Joker's reign of terror, he must come to terms with his relationship with his family. Meanwhile, a new threat emerges for Gotham and, more importantly, for Bruce Wayne.
1. Part 1: Willy Wonka

**Part 1**

June 26, 1971

It was a strange movie. A man named Willy Wonka owned a magic chocolate factory. A girl got turned into a large blueberry and another got dropped down a chute for golden eggs. Plus, there are were all these small orange men that kept appearing out of nowhere and singing. It was very weird, but I still think I liked it.

"Did you enjoy the movie?" Dad asked.

"Yeah, what were the little orange men singing about? I think they called the girl a brat. I've never heard anyone use that word."

"It's something you'll understand more when you're older."

I hate it when he says things like that to me. I am old! I'm eight years old. Last year, I was only seven. We left the movie theater together and began to walk toward the car where Alfred was parked. I really like Alfred, even though he talked funny.

"So what was your favorite part of the movie?" Dad asked as he looked down at me.

"I think I liked the part where the boy and his grandfather floated to the ceiling and started burping. It was goofy." I said with excitement.

"I liked that part too." Dad said, looking off into the shadows in the alley behind the theater. "I think we can go this way. We can get there quicker."

Mom looked nervous.

"I don't know, Thomas. It's really dark down there." Mom said cautiously.

I thought Mom was right. That alley looked really dark and scary.

"Come on, Martha. It will take just a like bit and we'll be through." Dad insisted.

Dad grabbed my hand and put his arm around Mom's waist and began to guide us through the dark alley. Although I would never tell Dad, I was really scared by the alley. But Dad thought I was big enough to handle it and I could never disappoint him.

Just when I thought we were going to get through with nothing bad happening, a man stepped in front of us. He was scary looking. He had long hair that covered his shoulders and big, black eyes that seemed to have the life sucked out of them. He was really skinny and looked like he was just skin and bones, something that Mom called me all the time. Now, I could tell her that he was skin and bones, not me.

"Money and jewelry! Now!" he yelled with a voice that didn't seem to fit his weak frame.

I looked down and noticed the large gun he had in his hand. I had never seen a gun in real life before. Dad didn't like them and didn't keep them around. It looked much scarier than I thought it would have.

Dad slowly reached into his back pocket, pulling out his wallet. He slowly handed it to the crook, staring at him.

"Alright, you have it. Now, let us go." Dad said calmly.

But, the man's eyes weren't looking at Dad anymore. They were staring at the large necklace Dad had given Mom for her birthday just a couple months ago. The man jerked the gun up and pointed it at Mom.

"Take off the pearls, lady!" he screamed.

Dad stepped in front of Mom, shielding her from the gun.

"Put the gun down! We'll give you the necklace!" Dad yelled. He didn't seem as calm as he had before.

Suddenly, the man seemed to lose his cool. He went to step towards Mom, trying to get to the necklace. Dad stepped into his way and, before I knew what happened, a loud CRACK filled the air.

Instantly, Dad fell to the ground, clutching his chest. His hands began to turn red almost instantly. Mom bent over to try and help him.

"THOMAS!" she screamed in a panic.

Then, another large CRACK sounded out and Mom collapsed on top of Dad. The man reached down and pulled the necklace off of Mom and turned to me.

"Sorry kid."

And then he ran away.

I bent down next to Dad. The front of his shirt and jacket were covered in blood and he was breathing funny.

"Are you ok, Dad?" I asked, beginning to cry. I hated seeing Dad hurt.

"Ev-v-eryth-ing wil-l-l be o-k-k, Bruccce." Dad said. His breathing was get worse and he was starting to cough a lot.

"Dad? I can-n get-t help!" I yelled in fear.

"It's o-ok, Bruce. Don't be afraid..."

With those words, Dad's head slipped to the side. He coughed one more time and then stopped moving at all.

"DAD!" I screamed, sobbing.

I pulled his head back to me. His eyes were empty, just like the man who shot him. I stared at nothing and didn't move or breath. I quickly looked over at Mom and saw the same thing. Staring at nothing.

With police sirens screaming in the background and the loud noises of Gotham City ringing in the background, I laid down on the chest of my father for the last time and cried.

"Dad..."


	2. Part 2: The Parole Hearing of Joe Chill

**Part 2**

December 8, 1984

I had done my best to forget about that night. Nine years ago, my parents had been slaughtered in front of me by an anonymous thief. I had watched as my father had bled out on the cold pavement that evening. I had listened as he told me to "not be afraid." To this day, I don't think I've figured out the full meaning of this phrase. Was he worried for my future? I was given billions when he died. Alfred was definitely smart enough not to let me blow all of that. Was he worried I would waste away? For awhile, I had secluded myself away from the world but eventually, my drive to live up to my father triumphed. Just like everyone else, I had graduated from high school at age eighteen. However, not like everyone else, only three years later, and just last week, I had graduated from Princeton with degrees in Psychology and Criminal Justice. I had been invited to attend nearly every law school on the eastern seaboard, most of them for free.

Was he worried I would blame myself?

If so, he would have been right. I didn't think about that night very often, but when I did, a sense of overwhelming guilt flooded over me. I didn't have a good reason. We hadn't left the movie early and we hadn't gone that way because of me. However, I couldn't help but feel that for some reason, the death of my parents was my fault. I could have begged for the man not to kill my parents. I could have done something. Instead, I stood, frozen in fear, as that man gunned down my parents.

That man who killed my parents was named Chill. Joe Chill was his name and just a week after the murder of my parents, he had been found and confessed to the crime. He plead to a reduced deal that only guaranteed fifteen years in prison. Except even that wasn't guaranteed. The current District Attorney had granted a hearing for Chill to discuss the option of an early parole for him. Not only had he been on his best behavior over the last nine years, but he had shared a jail cell with Rupert Thorne, the suspected head of organized crime in Gotham. After some legal maneuvering, the hearing had finally been set. Today, Joe Chill could walk free.

Alfred had let me know about this in early November about this. I wasn't surprised. Gotham had slowly slipped into chaos after the death of my parents. Their death showed the people of Gotham that even the rich could be hurt. People stopped trusting the police and the police as a result began to doubt their own abilities. So, corruption become the common place. Judges, lawyers, and police officers were being paid off in Gotham City more than anywhere else in the world. In fact, most people believed that both the judge who would oversee the hearing and District Attorney who requested that Chill be given an early release, were on Thorne's payroll. Just five years ago, Thorne had been convicted of extortion, fraud, blackmail, and racketeering. Earlier this year, he was released. Obviously, someone had gotten richer and Thorne had gotten out of prison.

No one had doubted that whether he had been before or if he was a recent addition, Chill was now one of the many names on the payroll of Rupert Thorne. I didn't have any doubt that he was going to be released today. It just made too much sense.

I drove the most subtle car I had in the garage, a black Mercedes. Alfred had offered to drive me, thinking that I planned to make a huge appearance. I had quite the opposite plan. I wanted to sneak in. I wanted them to do what they were going to do, regardless of whether I was there. Luckily, I had done a pretty good job of keeping my face out of the papers and so while everyone in Gotham surely knew my name, I could get away with showing my face.

I parked in the parking lot behind the giant Gotham Courthouse. Once I reached the back door, I paid the guard to allow me into the back entrance. Once I explained who I was and why I was here, and that I had five hundred dollars in my pocket, he was eager to let me in. I guess paying people off works everywhere in this town. I quickly ran up the back staircase and reached the fifth floor, where the largest courtroom was. As I expected, news crews were everywhere, hoping to catch anyone related to the story. Apparently, the parole hearing for the killer of the most famous philanthropist in Gotham history was a big deal.

While no one was paying attention, I quickly slid into one of the side doors and took my seat towards the back. Almost immediately after I sat down, the bailiff spoke up.

"All rise for the Honorable Judge Harold Krum." he said with a bold voice.

Krum. By most accounts, he was the dirtiest judge in Gotham. He was often seen at Polanski's Restaurant on 45th Avenue, a hangout for some of Thorne's more reputable colleagues. At any time of day, you could find numerous judges, several cops, and at least one Assistant District Attorney. Today, he would do his boss' bidding and set free his little man.

"Today, we will hear testimony from and about one, Joseph K. Chill. Nine years ago, you pled guilty to two counts of Manslaughter in the first degree and one count of theft. You were sentenced to life in prison at Blackgate Prison, with parole eligible after fifteen years. However, we have reports of your good behavior and your cooperation with the District Attorney's Office in various cases involving organized crime. Therefore, I have allowed this hearing in order to determine that you have been properly rehabilitated and have seen the error of your ways."

This was a joke. All that legal bull about him being rehabilitated. The only thing that had been rehabilitated was his bank account. He would never have to mug anyone again.

"Mr. Hall. You may present your witnesses." Krum said to the DA.

"Thank you, Your Honor. We call Joseph Chill as our first witness."

Chill slowly stood and made his way to the podium. He was a frail man with shifty eyes. Who would have thought this could have been the man that seemed so threatening to me?

After he was sworn in, Chill took his seat. He was already sweating. I can't imagine why. If Krum had been paid off, as I assume he had, then nothing would change his decision.

"Please describe the night you killed Thomas and Martha Wayne." DA Hall started.

Then, in excruciating detail, Chill began to tell his version of what happened. He told everyone about how poor he had been and how he was desperate for money. So, he stole a gun from a pawn shop and found the first wealthy looking couple he could find. Unfortunately, that had been my parents. He told the crowd gathered about how he had accidentally pulled the trigger when my Dad stepped in front of my mom. Then, he said how he had been so frightened by the screaming of my mother that he shot her.

Once he said that, I looked around the room. No one looked angry. No one looked upset. Everyone looked like they felt bad for him. Like he had no other choice. I slowly realized that no one cared about my parents. No one cared about true justice. This man killed two of the greatest people in the whole world and the general population didn't care. They wanted him to be let go because he had learned his lesson.

But, he hadn't learned his lesson.

Finally, he appeared to be done. I couldn't take it anymore. Just as I stood up to leave, Judge Krum spoke up.

"Mr. Wayne?"

Suddenly, the spotlight shifted to me. Every camera and microphone in the room shifted from the witness stand to the far back corner of the room.

"Yes, Judge?" I asked.

"Do you have anything you would like to say?" he asked in return, a small smile barely concealed.

For an instant, I thought about ignoring him and leaving and then suddenly, inspiration struck.

"Yes." I said as I boldly made my way to the front of the courtroom. Once I was in front of the judge's stand, I turned around and faced the crowd.

"This man murdered two people in cold blood. It wasn't self-defense. He's not crazy. He killed them because he didn't have any money." I said with anger. Then, I turned to Chill.

"Tell me, Mr. Chill. Where did you graduate from high school?" I asked, feigning politeness.

"Does this question have any bearing on your statement?" Judge Krum asked.

"Yes." I replied strongly.

"Answer the question, Mr. Chill."

He looked at the floor as he responded.

"I didn't."

I had already known that. But, I couldn't help but humiliate him a little bit.

"Well, that must have made going to college very difficult." I replied snidely.

"I couldn't, Mr. Wayne." he replied softly.

"I know, Joe. I know. Tell me, how many jobs have you worked in your life?" I asked.

"One." he replied.

"Great!" I replied, boldly faking excitement. "For how long?"

He sat there silently.

"How long!" I insisted.

"...two weeks."

"Two weeks! How old are you, Mr. Chill?" I asked, closing in on my prey. With just a few steps, I was just in front of the witness stand.

"Fifty-two years old, Mr. Wayne."

I stopped and ran back to the District Attorney's table to do some quick math. Once I had my results, I attacked again.

"Mr. Chill, you have been alive for over 2,704 weeks. During that time, you have failed to graduate from anything and have held a job for only two weeks. Now, I read your profile. I know that you came from a very well off family and that you disagreed with them and so you moved out of the house when you were sixteen years old. I know that you dropped out of school shortly thereafter. Why?"

"It wasn't for me." he replied shortly.

"So what was? What have you done with your life? In 2,704 weeks, you have worked for 14 days. That is less than 1% of your entire lifetime. There are some fifteen year olds that have done fifty times what you have done with your life." I said with scorn.

"When you moved out, who paid for it?" I asked.

"My parents did."

"When you got caught drinking under the legal age, who paid for your bail?"

"They did."

"When you got caught with cocaine and heroin, who visited you everyday for three years in jail?"

"They did."

"What did you ever do to repay them? All they were was good to you. Did you kill my parents because they reminded you of what you had? Did they remind you of how great your parents were to you?"

"No."

"Well, then why did you kill them?" I asked simply.

"Because I needed money."

"Ok. That's what jobs are for, aren't they?" I replied. "When was the last time you filled out a job application?"

"1964 or '65."

"That was almost twenty years ago! And it was almost ten before you went to prison."

"Yes."

"The act you committed was selfish and horrible. You killed two of the most generous and helpful people on the planet because you were too lazy to do your own work and get a job. Why should we feel bad for you?"

"You shouldn't. I feel sorry for what I did everyd-"

"I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE SORRY! YOU KNOW WHAT YOU COULD HAVE DONE! YOU COULD HAVE TAKEN THAT GUN AND PUT IT TO YOUR OWN HEAD! THE REST OF THE WORLD WOULD HAVE MY PARENTS TO HELP THEM AND YOU WOULDN'T HAVE BECOME THE WASTE OF SPACE THAT YOU ARE TODAY!"

With that, I left, knowing that I had gone too far. I walked out of the courthouse as the reporters tried to follow me. As I ignored, their presence, I made my way back to my car and pulled it up next to the front entrance. I figured that within a few minutes, Chill would come around the corner and I could do what I wanted to him. I was Bruce Wayne, afterall.

Sure enough, ten minutes later, the crowds began to pour out of the entrance, with the scraggly old man at the center. I got out of my car and was making my way towards him when a short, balding man stepped in front of him.

"You should have kept your yapp shut, Chill!"

Suddenly, a CRACK rang through the air as visions of my parents' death flashed before my eyes. I ran towards where Chill had fallen and hated what I saw. Blank eyes. Though my father and my mother and Joe Chill had looked so different in life, all they were in death were blank eyes.

Then, I heard someone from behind me say, "Wow, he shouldn't have ratted out Thorne."

"What!" I said as I turned around and faced the reporter.

"Yeah, after you left, he made his final statement. That as a part of his parole agreement, he would share all the information he had on Thorne's operation with the Police and the DA's office."

"They set him up." I said quietly.

"Yeah, pretty much. Thorne wanted to use him as an example and got Hall and Krum to help him out with it. That's why he looked so nervous today. Once he heard that Hall would be presenting the case and Krum would be hearing it, he knew that he was over."

As I walked slowly back to my car, all I could think about were those blank eyes. A man that had tried to set things right, a man that I had told to kill himself, was dead.

Rupert Thorne. He was the cause of this.

Once I got in my car, I sped away, Polanski's Restaurant my destination.


	3. Part 2: A Knight is Born

**December 8, 1982**

It had taken me nearly three hours to park the car. It hadn't taken me that long to actually find a parking spot. That had been easy. Convincing myself that meeting with the head of organized crime in Gotham was a good idea was what took me so long. In the end, I decided that Thorne needed to understand that not everyone was afraid of him. So, after three hours of driving around, I parked the black Mercedes. I got out and ran across the street to Polanski's.

Once I got to the door, two thugs stopped me from entering.

"No one gets in tonight."

"My name is Bruce Wayne and I am getting in. Either let me in or I'll get someone down here who will let me in. How does Gotham Police sound?"

Instantly, I was inside. Once in, a barrage of sights and smells invaded my senses. The small restaurant was poorly lit and incredibly cramped, except for an open area by one booth in the back. Obviously, that was by designed. The place smelled of sausage, wine, and too much cologne and perfume.

I slowly weaved my way back and forth until I reached the booth in the back. Thorne was a large man, both in figure and influence. He was well over three hundred pounds with red hair that was slowly turning white. As I got there, two men stood up and searched me for weapons. When they found none, I was seated.

"No gun, Wayne? You must be stupider than you look." Thorne said with a chuckle.

"I'm not afraid of you, Rupert. You can't hurt me." I replied boldly.

"Oh really? Look around, Wayne. You're in my house. There are cops and judges here. Lawyers, other public servants. All here under my dime. This is my world. I could kill you in a second and make it look like an accident. Or I could not even worry about it and just kill you."

"You wouldn't. Maybe for someone else, but not me. I'm too famous."

"Maybe." Thorne said as he leaned forward. "But what about your butler? I'm sure he's not too famous. You made a big mistake coming here. Now, you're mine."

Suddenly, I had a sudden urge to run.

"Now, Wayne, I want you to get up and leave and in the morning, one of my lawyers will be over to discuss signing over part of Wayne Enterprises to me."

"OK, Thorne." I said as I got up.

I couldn't get out quick enough as I weaved my way back to the front door. Once I was there, I raced back across the street to the car. Once inside, I sat for what seemed like hours at the steering wheel, shaking. Suddenly, I came to a realization. There was no one that could stop a man like him. No one here, anyway. But, maybe, with some training, I could become that man. However, in order to get out of town free, I needed a good excuse.

So, after a quick stop at a liquor store, I went to the docks. I dumped three of the four bottles into the river and then threw them back into the car. Then, I went and found a stick and wedged it between the seat and the gas pedal. Then, I started the car and put it in drive. The car fired forward and launched itself off the dock.

After that, I sprinted back to the road and hailed a taxi. Once inside, I asked, "Where will $500 get me?"

"Anywhere." the driver said through a thick Indian accent.

"Airport." I said shortly.

* * *

Once at the airport, I stole the passport of a man who looked liked me. With that, I still had enough cash on me to purchase a ticket on a private plane that was leaving for France. I would have nothing when I got there. I would have to make my way to Munich where I held a Swiss account. I could empty that and use it on my quest. I hoped that Gotham wouldn't slip too far down to hell while I was gone. I needed to save her and to save her, I needed help.


	4. Part 3: The Knight Begins

**October 1, 1989**

I hadn't seen the Gotham skyline in almost five years. Not only had I not seen Gotham, I hadn't seen anything on that half of the earth. I had gone to London and hadn't looked back. Now, after years of training, I was back to make sure that Gotham stopped its descent into hell. I didn't really have any good idea of how I was going to do that, but I knew that something needed to be done.

Two days earlier, I had called a friend in Paris. She had been able to secure a private jet for my use to get back to Gotham. Obviously shocked to hear the voice of a dead man, she had hung up on me four times before I could convince her that I was who I said I was.

Finally, the plane ended its descent and came to a stop on the long runway at Gotham International. As I looked out my window, I saw my oldest friend waiting with a black Mercedes parked behind him. It couldn't have been the same one I sunk, but it was as close as it could be.

I quickly grabbed what little belongings I had and descended the stairs to the runway. Alfred slowly approached me, noticeably wary of me.

"Master Wayne?" he asked timidly.

"Alfred, I've been gone for six years. In six years, you couldn't have learned to call me something else?" I asked with a large smile.

"Old habits die hard, Master Wayne. However, you apparently do not." Alfred said as he took my bag out of my hand and put it in the trunk of the car.

"How's Gotham?" I asked.

"Why do you care?" Alfred asked, a small amount of resentment in his voice.

"It's why I came back."

"What do you mean?" he asked as he approached me again.

"From what I've heard, things have gotten worse since I left." I replied, looking him in the eye.

"They have. The gangs have taken over and the police is practically owned by Rupert Thorne." Alfred said with a depressed look.

I slowly walked towards the car and got in the back seat. Once Alfred got in the driver's seat, he spoke again.

"Where to, Master Wayne?"

"Home, Alfred. I have work to do." I replied firmly.

"Work?"

"I've been gone for six years. In that time, I have been trained by the world's best in martial arts, forensic sciences, deception, and intimidation. The criminals of Gotham City are done dragging this place down. I have to stop them."

"But, sir, what can one man do?" he asked with concern.

"One man? One man can't do anything." I replied.

"Then, what are you going to do?"

"Become a legend."

* * *

**October 3**

Two days after returning home, my vision came to me. I needed to become a shadow. I need to be present, yet invisible. I had to be a ghost, yet intimidating. I needed to scare the life out of my opponents before they even saw me. Just the idea of who I would become needed to be enough to make them weak, make them lose their focus.

I had remembered my dad talking about the cave that sat beneath Wayne Manor. I had never been in there, but I did remember the entrance that lie on the edge of the grounds. So, two days after my return, I went down to the mouth of the cave. Maybe part of my adventurous side had been extinguished with the death of my parents, but as I entered the cave, I found myself wondering why I had never came down here before.

Slowly, I entered the large hole in the ground and saw exactly what I was looking for. It was huge. Beyond huge, even. The cave covered the entire grounds and had numerous levels carved out into it. I immediately knew that this place would be wonderful for me. The large space would allow for a new training area to keep my physique at the highest of levels. Also, another area would be perfect as a lab or research area.

Once I saw that the cave had what I needed, I turned to leave. Just as I reached the edge of the cave, something huge flew at me. I quickly fell and covered my head. Once I sensed that the danger was over, I looked up. A large bat hung just above where I had been walking. Its wingspan was about three feet in length and it was jet black. I realized that the bat itself held no danger for me.

I got up and dusted myself off. I was walking out of the cave and back into the sunny day when a sudden realization hit me. That bat is all reality hadn't been that frightening. However, when I couldn't see it and when it caught me by surprise, it had terrified me. That's exactly what I needed to be. As a man, I wouldn't scare anyone. But, if they didn't know what I was and if I caught them off guard, their fear alone would handicap them to no end.

It was then, in that moment, where the vision came. Clad all in black, a cowl to hide my face and a cape to strike fear into others, I would defend Gotham. I would become Batman.

* * *

**October 4**

For the first time since my return, I entered the city at large, my destination: Wayne Enterprises. After my return, Alfred had filled me in on what had happen to the family business over the years. Not only had I reliqushed control of the company to the board upon my disappearance, but my stocks had also been filtered to other people. Lucky for me, Alfred had retained a good portion of them. Once I had returned, he quickly transferred them back to me. Thankfully for me, Alfred had resisted the urge to declare me dead, even when all signs pointed otherwise. He wouldn't tell me why, but part of me believed it to be a large case of denial.

Alfred's shares equalled to about 12% of Wayne Enterprises' total worth. While it wouldn't be enough to become the majority owner, it would be enough to push my way back onto the board, which for the current time was all I needed. Soon enough I would be able to purchase majority shares but it wasn't something I was overly concerned with at that point in time.

Once I got to WE, I entered using the front door, maximizing my entrance. People in the lobby stopped and stared as the dead billionaire walked through the front door. After a slow and lesurely walk to the front desk, I approached the woman who was reading a magazine instead of doing her job.

"What is your name, miss?" I asked, using the silkiest voice I owned.

"Why do you care?" she said without looking up.

"I was wondering whether or not I should have you fired." I stated, allowing a certain edge to slip out.

Instantly, the woman's eyes shot up. For a brief moment, they held the sharpest of views until the sudden realization of who she was speaking to hit her.

"Mr. Wayne? Aren't you dead?" she asked in disbelief.

"It appears not. Now, what was your name?" I asked again.

"Claire." she replied breathlessly.

"Ok. Claire, I want you to go to Mr. Hauer and tell him that I would like to meet with the board. Once your done with that, please get Lucius Fox and tell him to meet me in my father's old office."

Immediately, she turned and walked as fast as she could without running, obviously not wanting to displease the resurrected Prince of Gotham. I followed her long enough to get to the elevators. Once inside, I waited patiently as the car rode its way all the way to the top of the tallest building in Gotham. Finally, the small metal box stopped and opened its doors to let me out to the small top floor.

The floor that everyone else got to see what the 103rd floor. However, the offices of the CEO, CFO, and the boardroom were on the 104th floor and this is where, with a grand view of their city, they made their decisions.

As I expected, Claire had taken the freight elevator and beaten me. Also, and again as I expected, the board was in session. The look on Hauer's face told me that she had delivered the appropriate information and that my entrance would be even better.

"I hope I'm not interrupting." I said, knowning I was, as I entered the room.

Maximillion Hauer. He was one of the few remaining members of the original board that my father had created when he started Wayne Enterprises. My father also hated him. However, after my father's death, there was some back dealings that went ary and most of the original board was locked out of WE. Lucius Fox, another one of the board members, had somehow managed to stay in the company. However, he had taken a huge demotion to the head of the Research and Development Department. Almost everyone suspected Hauer of planting bad information and utilizing other companies to outbid WE in order to get these people out. However, no conclusive proof was ever brought up and as the senior most member of the board, he was in charge.

Hauer looked both angry and confused, although he tried not to show it.

"Of course not, Bruce. Please come in and join us." he said, gritting his teeth.

Just as I made my way to an empty chair, Lucius Fox entered the room.

"Mr. Wayne?" he asked with surprise.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Hauer asked with surprise.

"I asked him to come." I replied calmly.

"Well, that's all well and good, but I'm in charge here and he's not allowed in these meetings." Hauer replied indignantly.

"He is if I make him a board member. As a member of the Wayne family, I'm allowed to add one person other than myself to the board. Lucius is my choice." I replied smartly.

Max stood completely still.

"Welcome back to the board, Lucius." he said as he walked back to the head of the table.

Lucius took his seat next to me and leaned in my ear.

"Why me?" he asked.

"My father liked you. Plus, I can trust you." I replied softly.

"Bruce, Lucius, the board has just approved our plan to go public before the end of the year. That was the last thing on our agenda. Do you have anything you wish to add?"

"Yes, Max. I would like to take over the Applied Sciences and Research and Development Departments. They haven't been making nearly as much money as they are capable of in the past few years and I would like to change that." I replied quickly.

Max looked around the room quickly.

"Any opposed?"

No one spoke or raised a hand to oppose.

"It's all yours. Good luck. This meeting is adjourned."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Lucius and I were in the Applied Sciences bunker in the third basement, as far away from the 104th floor as possible.

"Mr. Wayne, thank you for that. But, why would you do that?"

I looked at him and responded candidly.

"My father once told me that the only honest man on the board was you. I already knew about the board's plan to go public. Once they do it, I'll be able to purchase enough shares to take over majority control of the company. When I do that, I'll name you the CEO and CFO of the company."

I had to work hard not to laugh at the look on Lucius' face.

"What happened to you? Where did you go?" he asked curiously.

"That's not important. This is. In the next few weeks, certain items in here are going to go missing. A good friend of mine will be using them. I'll refund the company once we go public."

Lucius looked confused so I thought I would fill him in a bit.

"Gotham's gone to hell. Everyone knows that. This person wants to help get things back in order. But, in order to do that, he needs to work outside the law and he needs some help. We can give him that. Here's a list of the things that will disappear."

I handed him a lengthy list of supplies that I had planned on assembling for my war on crime.

"Kevlar body suit. Prototype memory cloth. Rebreather. Neurotoxin antidotes? What does he need all this for?" Lucius exclaimed.

"Apparently, there are some reports of a fear toxin being present in some of the downtown gangs. They distribute it into the air and it shocks your brain into only seeing the things you fear most." I replied matter-of-factly.

"Wow." was all Lucius could say in reply.

"Yeah. I'm sure he'll be in contact with you." I said.

"Really?"

"Oh, I know it." I said with a smirk.

* * *

I didn't have any idea how I was going to do this. I knew that I needed help from the police. I needed someone I could get information from. From everything that I had been able to look at since I was seven until about four months ago, GCPD was dirtier than any police department in the world. Obvious examples of pay-offs to an officer who shot a man in the foot for no apparent reason but still managed to keep his badge. It was painfully apparent to anyone with a brain that someone owned the police department, and it wasn't the mayor.

However, there were rumors that there was one officer who was above all that. Reading through old newspaper articles, the only person that ever seemed to make any legitimate arrests was an officer by the name of James Gordon. His current role within the GCPD was housed in the Major Crimes Unit, where he was 2nd in command. Gordon seemed like a legitimate officer and someone that I could trust. But first, I needed to check him out.

I arrived at the Police Headquarters Building just after four o'clock in the afternoon. From what I could see, it appeared that the department itself had started to clear out. Most of the desk in the hopper rooms were empty and lots of the offices were dark. I approached the front desk, again putting on the billionaire face.

"Officer, is Det. Gordon still around?" I asked the officer manning the front.

"Bruce Wayne?" he asked in shock.

"Yes. Now, Det. Gordon?" I asked, smiling and knowing that soon rumors of my return would turn into a news story that I was sure to be interviewed for.

"Uh, yeah. He should still be here. Fourth floor, first office on the right."

"Thank you, officer." I said as I made my way towards the elevator.

After a brief ride up the otherwise empty elevator, I reached the office of Detective James W. Gordon. Pulling myself together again, I knocked on the door.

"Yeah!" a voice called from inside.

"Bruce Wayne. I would like to be speak with you."

Instantly, someone came rushing to the door and pulled it open. Once I view, I was met face-to-face with Jim Gordon. While he stood at only around 5'9", he still struck an imposing figure. Something about him screamed authority. His hair was starting to turn white and the dark look in his eyes made him look older than he actually was.

"Bruce Wayne? I thought you were dead." Gordon remarked.

"Well, I personally am very glad I am not. Are you busy?" I asked.

"Not really. Why?"

"There's something I would like to discuss with you." I replied.

"Alright, come on in." he said as he turned back to his desk.

I walked inside his office. Obviously, he was a busy man. He had case files and papers stacked on a desk separate from the one he was working at. It was obvious that he didn't have much time. I was going to be brief.

"Detective Gordon, I'll be brief. You are one of the only good cops left in this department. You're surrounded by cops who take bribes and who do things for multiple crime bosses all over town. However, I know someone who can help you with that."

"What do you mean?" he asked, obviously interested.

"I have a colleague who wants to make Gotham right again. However, he believes that Gotham is beyond the point where the law can help. He plans on utilizing some tactics that some would call "illegal" to stop the crime in Gotham City. However, he can't do it alone. He's going to need information." I said firmly.

"And that's what you want from me?" he replied warily.

"Yes. He would like to visit you on occasion and ask for some information. Unless absolutely necessary, he would never take any physical files. He would just ask you for the information. You can choose to inform him or not. All I ask is that you listen to him and determine whether or not you would like to assist him."

"I'll consider it. You know. I'll lose my job if I get caught. Why should I do this?" Gordon asked.

"A good feeling?" I replied sarcastically.

"Right." Gordon shot back.

"Trust me. Things will work out for you." I said deceptively.

"Like I said, I'll consider it but right now, I have work to do. Would you excuse me?" he asked. Obviously, I had worn my welcome. With a quick turn, I left the office, confident that I had recruited my next ally.

* * *

**October 20**

A little bit over two weeks later, everything was ready. The various items that I had gathered to utilize in my war on crime had been organized and assembled in a terrifying way. I stood head to toe in black Kevlar armor, a black shroud hanging from my shoulders. I had taken it upon myself to create a symbol, an insignia to place across my chest. A simple black bat that stretched from shoulder to shoulder lay there. Finally, a black cowl with two large pointy ears attached to the side was placed over my head.

I was ready. Ready to go out and strike fear into the hearts of those that destroy hope and justice in Gotham.

But, I needed a way to get into the city. Initially, I had decided that a large military style SUV or mini-tank would be a good fit. However, I realized that with my plan to sneak into the city each night, I needed something stealthier. So, a week ago, I drove the Bentley around town and found a Suzuki motorcycle dealer. Having already decided that a good way to through off anyone who might suspect that Batman and Bruce Wayne were the same person was to act like a complete fool in public, the purchase of two Suzuki Hayabusa was a given. No one other than the stupid and childish billionaire who lost his parents as a child would think to buy two of these under the precaution that he might wreck one.

Having purchased the vehicles and given the dealer my address to deliver them to, I made my way back to Wayne Manor to continue getting things ready. I had figured out a way to create a secret door in the study on the first floor by knocking out a wall and placing a large elevator there. Getting people to install it had been interesting. I had eventually given in and done something I hadn't wanted to do: lie.

I had hired a group of Russian immigrants to build and install the equipment down in the Cave. To them, I was Nikolai Kuchev and I needed a bunker built to control my own small Mafia group. Once they had been informed by Alfred that I was in control of part of the Russian Mob, they quietly agreed to work for me. They had finished installing the Cray computers, uniform bay, and training station just yesterday and I was incredibly pleased that they were finally gone. I also subconsciously decided that I would have to watch them if they were willing to work for the Russian Mob.

Finally, night set in and I began to suit up. While I had tried on parts of the suit, I had not put in on in its entirety, so that when I did, I would finally be able to assume the entity that I wished to become.

Putting the suit on was a length process. Being late October, it got down to a surprisingly cold temperatures in Gotham. As a result, I started with a layer of military grade spandex warmth gear. Next was the Kevlar vest and pants. Each was made of a thin carbon fiber-Kevlar weave and was designed to slow down a bullet that may enter that. However, it wasn't my intention to let that happen. Covering that layer was the Nomex Survival Suit. It was a thick rubber-like material that I had painted jet black in order to allow myself to blend in better. Its structure prevented anything but the highest grade bullets from entering from anything other than a point blank shot. Finally, the cape and cowl were placed on my back and head, respectively.

Once everything was in place, I took a moment to collect myself and realize the gravity of what I was about to do. Finally, Bruce Wayne disappeared and the aggressive nature of Batman stepped forward. Once I had put my mind to what I was going to do and in what order, I got on my bike and took off out the newly constructed raceway on my way to return Gotham to its former glory.


	5. Part 3: Making A Name for Yourself

October 20, 1989

**7:00 PM**

It had taken me only twenty minutes instead of the usual forty to enter the city. I had already decided that visiting Jim Gordon would be the first thing on my list and that is where I made my way once I entered the city limits. Quickly, I fired across town, making sure to avoid large streets so to avoid attention, both from the police and those who happened to see a large man wearing a cape and driving a motorcycle much too fast.

Once I got to GPD Headquarters and parked the cycle across the street, I swiftly climbed the adjacent building and made my way towards Jim Gordon in Major Crimes.

When I got outside his window, I noticed a few things. First, I noticed that he wasn't there. Second, I noticed the still lit cigarette in the ashtray on his desk. So, obviously he had been here recently. But it was the coat on the coat rack that let me know that Gordon was still in the building.

Quickly and quietly, I opened the unlocked window and slid in. Lucky for me, the room was darkly designed and poorly lit which would allow my initial appearance to him to occur under the proper circumstances. I had decided that I would talk to him and see if I could get him to cooperate with me. Then, utilizing his help, I would go out and begin my work for the evening.

Fifteen minutes went by before Gordon entered the room. I waited patiently as he sat down and began to fill out some random paperwork. Finally, when I couldn't handle the wait any longer, I stepped forward and cleared my throat.

Instantly, Gordon reached to his side and pulled out his sidearm and aimed it at me. The look in his eyes told me that I had succeeded in scaring him.

"Who are you?" Gordon screamed.

_"Bruce Wayne told you about me. Trust me, Detective, we have the same goals." _I growled.

"I thought he was kidding." Gordon admitted. "Rumor has it is that Wayne is a drunk."

_"Wayne is a friend. Now, Detective, will you let me help you?"_

Detective Gordon seemed to consider the offer for a bit.

"Why should I? What are you going to do that we can't?" Gordon asked suspiciously.

_"I am incorruptible. Just like you. But, unlike you, I work outside the law. I can go where you can't, I can do things you can't." _I fired back.

"I can't work with a killer." Gordon said.

_"I won't kill, Gordon. But, I can promise you that I will give you everything. I will get the dirt out of your department and out of the courthouse. I'll give you the Mob. I'll give you everyone. I just need your help to do it." _

"The Commissioner is going to be against you and so will the Mayor. How do I help you without letting them know?"

_"I won't take anything. Only ask for information. If you think I need a file, make a copy that I'll destroy later. You'll have complete deniability."_

"What about the cameras? They'll see you anywhere and they'll hear everything we say."

_"No. I've managed to hack into your security feeds. Anytime I come, I'll have looped the feeds for the time I'm here." _I admitted.

Finally, it appeared that Gordon was out of questions. He sat back down at his desk, removing his glasses and massaging his temples. Then, he looked up.

"What do you need to know?"

_"Anything you guys can't prove." _I replied sharply.

"There's a new gang out on the docks. We don't know their name yet but they're always led by some guy wearing what looks like a red trashcan on his head. They keep stealing from the boats that come in. It's really killing business down there."

_"Thanks, Detective."_

"Whatever. Just get-"

I didn't have time to hear what he said. I had already disappeared silently out the window, on my way to the docks to stop this Red Hood Gang.

* * *

**October 21, 1989**

**12:01 AM **

**Robert Buhrer**

Success! We had just finished our biggest take of the year at the 2nd National Bank in Gotham. The boss said that our cuts would be somewhere around seventy to eighty thou. I couldn't even imagine that much money. Stealing shit in Gotham was so much easier than in Metropolis. The cops there actually gave a fuck as to what we did. Here, nothing. It took us nearly two hours to get into the vault and nothing. I'm almost positive that some sort of alarm must have gone off. No one checked it though.

We had just finished loading up the last of the stash when something moved behind us. Lucky for us, we all had at least two guns fully loaded with plenty of ammo to spare. Nothing was going to get us and we definitely weren't going to go down without a fight. Especially not to some fucking cops.

"Bobby! Go check that shit out!" the boss yelled at me from the loading bay of the UHaul style truck we had stolen for the job.

"What the fuck, boss? It's probably just some fucking cat!" I replied indignantly. "Make Jonesy go!"

"Why the fuck should Jonesy go?" the boss replied, jumping down from the back end of the truck to come at me.

"Because Jonesy is just a hired muthafuckin' thug! I actually do something other than holding a goddamn gun." I replied, knowing I was pushing the limits with the Boss.

Finally, the Boss got right in my face and just when I was sure he was going to kill me, he smiled and backed off.

"Jonesy, go check and see what that was." he said with a dangerous smile.

"What the hell, man?" Jonesy replied.

"Do it!" the Boss said, drawing his Uzi and pointing it at him.

"Fuck!" Jonesy replied as he walked towards the end of the alley where the sound had come from.

While Jonesy went to go check out the noise, we put the finishing touches on our packing job. Finally, once everything was in order, we closed the sliding door to the trailer and were ready to pull out. We waited nearly five minutes before The Boss finally lost his cool.

"Jonesy! What in the hell are you doing down there? Did you find some man to do it with or something, you fag?" he screamed from the back end of the truck.

There was no answer.

"Bobby, take Karl and find the stupid bastard before the GPD finds us." The Boss said quickly.

"Fine."

Just when I stepped out of the truck, the lights in the area went out. But, they didn't go out in a "power went out" way. No, it was more of a "somebody broke all the lightbulbs" thing.

"What the fuck?" Karl said next to me.

All of the sudden, something massive moved next to me. Before I could turn and see what it was, Karl yelled out in pain. I turned back around to see Karl laying on the ground, his eye bloody.

"What the hell happened?" I said Karl, bending down to try and pick him up.

That was when something landed on the roof of the truck. Quickly, whatever it was smashed through the windshield of the vehicle. Suddenly, the Boss yelled out as he was launched from the vehicle towards the nearest dumpster. Gunfire rang out as whoever was left in the truck tried to fight back against the monster. However, whatever they were doing wasn't working. People continued to fly from the vehicle as the monster reached in and grabbed them only to throw them from the vehicle. Silently, I prayed hoping that each member of my gang would just stay down, because whatever it was would kill them without even thinking twice, I was sure of it.

Suddenly, the black monster turned and spotted me. Whether he had known I was there the whole time or just discovered me, it didn't matter. I was screwed. It launched itself from its place on the truck towards me. It landed right in front of me and swiftly turned and kicked me in the center of the chest. I flew across the alley and hit the wall of the bank we had just robbed.

Looking up, I saw this...thing standing over me. Suddenly, I was more afraid that I had ever been in my entire life.

"Wh-Wh-What are you?" I asked in fear.

Quickly, he reached down and picked me up by my jacket with one hand. He lifted me off my feet and brought me up to his eyes.

_"I am Batman."_

Then, all I knew was darkness.

* * *

**10/21/1989**

**2:13 AM**

**Det. Jim Gordon and Det. Harvey Bullock**

"You found them like this?" I asked the CSI who greeted me. The scene was one like I had never seen before. A large loading truck with what seemed like the contents of Second National Bank in the back was still here. Laying around it were six men, each with a weapon that had been fired. Each man had either a large contusion on their face or a broken limb. Something got to them.

"Yes, Detective." she replied firmly.

"What's the deal?" Bullock asked next to me, obviously not patient enough to wait for the CSI to present the information to us.

"We aren't sure. The Bank had security cameras on this area obviously but as you can see, the lights got knocked out. However, it was a half moon tonight, so we can sort of see what might be going on."

Interested, I replied, "Show me the video feed on the alley."

"Ok." she replied as she turned and walked inside.

Bullock and I followed her inside the Second National Bank and followed the maze of Forensic Investigators and street cops to the security room in the back. Once we were inside, she shut the door.

"What's that for?" I asked with suspicion.

"We don't want anyone else to see this." she replied softly.

"What in the hell does that mean?" Bullock asked rudely.

"This is what it means."

The second she started the video on the small TV on the desk, I was mesmerized. Within moments of the video starting, a loud crack was heard as the lights were blown out. Then, a shadow launched itself from behind a dumpster and onto the truck that had been parked outside the bank. We watched as the shadow smashed through the windshield of the truck in one single blow. While the moon hid behind a cloud, we lost vision of what was going on. However, we still had sound. Screams and gunshots echoed out throughout the small alley. Suddenly, the light returned and we saw the shadow holding a man about a foot off the ground with only one arm. We heard as the man asked in fear what the thing was. Instantly, the shadow pulled the man closer and whispered something to him before throwing him against the truck.

As the CSI reached forward to turn off the video, a brick dropped to the bottom of my stomach. I knew what that shadow was. Or at least I thought I did.

"What the hell was that?" Bullock yelled angrily next to me.

"You tell me." the CSI said snidely.

"Give me the tape." I said suddenly.

The look the CSI gave me was one of complete confusion.

"Sir, that's in direct violation of our code. All evidence must be taken away from the scene by CSI and documented at HQ."

"I know what the code says." I replied hurredly. "I'm sure Commissioner Loeb will want to see this tonight. I'll take it down to Forensics in the morning and give it to him."

"Alright, but if I get in trouble for this..." she replied.

"Seriously? In this town?" I shot back.

"True." was her only response as she gave me the video and walked out of the room.

Bullock waited until she was out of the room before he went to work on me.

"Ok, Gordon. What the fuck do you actually want the video for?"

"I want to look at it more. If I think it's worth it, I'll bring it to Loeb. If not, it'll just go to evidence." I replied, only being half honest.

"Whatever. You going home then?"

"Yeah, you can take the patrol car. I'm going to walk back." I replied simply.

"Sure. Say hi to the missus for me." he replied, showing a rare bit of something that wasn't contempt. I would have appreciated it if I could have.

"I would if I could." I mumbled back.

"That bad, huh?" he replied knowingly.

"She moved out yesterday. It's was I was still at HQ when this call came in."

"Yeah well ain't life a bitch. Get home, Gordon, shit's not safe 'round here." Bullock said, turning to leave.

I waited for Forensics to close up before I left the scene. Finally, when everyone was gone, I began the trek home. All I could think about was whatever that thing was and if it really was so good to help whatever he was with whatever he was doing. I was so entrenched in my thoughts that I didn't notice someone appear behind me.

_"Good evening, Detective."_

Luckily this time, I didn't draw my weapon. However, I did jump approximately forty-five feet in the air and nearly fell over.

"What the hell are you playing at?" I yelled at him as I turned around.

_"This way."_ he said, motioning towards the next alley.

"Fine." I said, oddly not questioning his strange choice of meeting location.

He led me to the other side of the dumpster that stood in the alley. Once we were there, he turned on me.

_"They call themselves the Red Hood."_

"Who does?" I asked in confusion.

_"The gang on the docks." _he growled. _"I planted a couple mics back there and listened in on them while they were breaking into the safe."_

"You couldn't have stopped them then?" I yelled in frustration.

_"They set up motion sensors around the perimeter of the safe room. I wouldn't have been able to get in without them noticing. Had to wait for them to come outside."_

"OK. So it was you back there?"

His lack of reply gave me my answer.

"Well, good work, I guess." I said, withdrawing the security video from my bad. "They got you on tape. What do you want me to do with it?"

_"It doesn't matter." he replied impatiently._

"Why not?"

_"Because Channel 16 already got ahold of a copy. I was able to get into the bank and make a copy of their tape. I altered it a little bit to get rid of the obvious images of me."_

"What's this about for you? Why are you doing this? And what in the hell does giving it to Jack Ryder have anything to do with this?" I asked, my voice getting much louder than I wanted it to.

_"I'm doing this because I know what it's like to have the most important part of your life taken from you. I'm doing this so no one has to suffer through what I did. And I gave that video to Jack Ryder so all the criminals in town can see what will happen to them if they don't stop what they're doing."_

I stopped and thought for a moment.

"That sounds great. Prove it." I challenged him.

Suddenly, he reached back around and pulled a file from seemingly nowhere.

_"A list of names and aliases for the men I stopped at Second National. This is the man they were led by" he said, pointing at the name on the top of the list. "As you can see, his name is Joseph White.__ However, the Metropolis police say they think it's been nearly thirty years since he went by that name for anything other than legal purposes. His aliases include Joe Kerr, Oberon Sexton, Jerry Robinson, and Michael Mifflin. Nicknames also include The Jester, Black Jack, and The Closer. His profile states that he is mentally unstable with possibly diagoneses being Bi-Polar Disorder, Schizophrenia, and Antisocial Personality Disorder. He is a sociopath who has no concern for others. He believes himself to be on top of the world, even though he remains only a small squad leader in an up-and-coming gang in Gotham. More than likely, he has murdered, raped, and stolen. Even more likely, he has done all of them and feels no remorse for them. He's a dangerous man and he needs to be locked up."_

"Wow." was all I could muster in reply.

_"I do the work that I need to do, Gordon. I'll give you everything. Evidence, psychological profiles, bank records**, everything**. In return, I just ask that if I ask you for something, you give it to me."_

" the way, what do I call you?" I asked, as I began to search my jacket for my cigarettes.

_"Batman."_

"Batman, what kind of name is that?" I said, finally locating them. "Hey, do you want a smoke?" I asked as I looked up to him.

He was gone.

"Goddamn. I have a feeling that's going to become a pattern."

* * *

**10/21/1989**

**7:03 AM**

**Bruce Wayne**

"Our top story this morning, a bank theft was stopped by a mysterious presence last night around midnight. Six men, all members of the new Red Hood Gang, were beaten and captured by an unknown person. Each of the robbers were armed with mini-machine guns and flash grenades. However, that wasn't enough to stop someone from taking the law into their own hands." Jack Ryder said as he opened the news program.

"Did everything go as planned, Master Wayne?" Alfred asked me from the kitchen.

"Yes, Alfred. Although I'm worried about this Red Hood Gang. The man that led the small crew last night worries me most of all." I replied.

"Why so, sir?"

"His profile suggests that he's a total lunatic capable of killing anyone and everyone in his way. He's one bad day away from completely losing his mind and then we're in a whole new ballgame."

"You should ask him out to dinner and politely ask him to go to Metropolis." Alfred replied in jest.

"Very funny. Hopefully, Gordon and Loeb can get something on him that will stick and he'll go away for the rest of his life."

"Ah, if things were only that simple in Gotham City."

"Again, too funny." I replied, rolling my eyes at the sarcastic old man.

Alfred's questioning seemed to cease and I returned my attention to the television as Commissioner Loeb addressed the public.

"After a brief review of security footage, we have learned that this figure calls itself "Batman." We know that this Batman stopped six armed men from robbing a bank and while we appreicate the effort, the GCPD does not condone vigilante activities. Therefore, Batman, and any other vigilantes that are sure to come about from this display, are enemies of city of Gotham. If anyone spots him or has any information on his whereabouts, please contact the Gotham Police Department."

"Who is in charge of capturing this vigilante?" a reporter in the front row screamed.

"Detective Jim Gordon will head up the newly created Batman task force. It does not matter that this has only occured once. It will NOT happen again."

I reached forward, grabbed the remote, and turned the tv off.

"Good fortune, Master Bruce. It seems that your ally is supposed to be searching for you."

"Yes. Something like that." I replied softly.

* * *

**10/21/1989**

**11:01 PM**

_"Good evening, Detective."_

Gordon only jumped a little bit tonight.

"Damn, how did you get in here? I locked the windows." he asked.

_"The vents are still open."_

"Great, here's knowing that you can get to me anytime you want."

_"I have no interest in getting to you, Gordon. But, do you have any interest in getting to me?" _

"No, I'm only a part of that task force because I showed Loeb the tape. I'm not sure if I trust you entirely, but I know that you aren't going to be stopped by the Police anytime soon."

_"Good. How's it looking for our Red Hood leader?"_

"Not good. He may get out because you interfered."

_"Why?"_

"You aren't a cop."

_"You should deputize me."_

"Oh yeah, that would look great. The cop that is supposed to be hunting Batman makes him a figure of the law."

_"Any new info for me tonight?" I asked._

"No. Now, get out."

I was out before he even knew I was.


	6. Part 3: The Court Jester Rises

**July 4, 1990**

**7:22 PM**

**Bruce Wayne**

God, I still hate these parties.

After almost a year of being back in Gotham, you would have thought that I would have gotten used to going to these stupid things. As the owner and chairmen of the Board for Wayne Enterprises, I was constantly being brought into town to go to charity events and fundraising balls.

I hated it. However, it allowed me to constantly assert my public personality of a drunken buffoon. Although I never actually drank, slowly acting like I was getting more and more intoxicated and occasionally picking up a drink and then dumping it in the nearest flower pot gave everyone the idea that Bruce Wayne was a drunken fool.

This particular banquet was being given in my honor. Wayne Enterprises had gone public on January 1, 1990 and I had swiftly purchased about 35% of the shares. I knew that this wouldn't allow me to control the company quite yet, but that was all part of the plan. In March, W.E. released a new smart car that was the first to utilize a computer system in its engine. The technology was years ahead of what anyone else had. As a result, W.E. stock skyrocketed. When it reached its peak, I sold everything, making nearly one billion dollars. That money was then place in a Swiss bank with high interest funds. I paid the bank one million dollars and the money gained ten percent interest monthly. By early June, I had gained nearly 500 million dollars in interest. By that time, the boom that W.E. had gained was back down to its normal prices and I was able to repurchase what I had lost. Except for this time, I was able to purchase 43% of the company, almost 5% higher than Maximillion Hauer.

The next day, I went to Wayne Tower and shared the good news with the board, I was now the official majority owner of Wayne Enterprises. That meant that a large majority of the board and ownership positions were being overhauled. The 10 person Board was now reduced to just three: myself, Lucius Fox, and Carl Beaumont. I learned that the next day, Hauer sold almost two-thirds of the stock that he had owned. Finally, Wayne Enterprises was under control of a Wayne again.

For the next months, changes were frequent. Lucius was named CEO and CFO of Wayne Enterprises. I named myself Chairman of the Board and with Lucius being the boss of the company, I found myself in need of at least seven new Board members. So, I went out and spent a ludicrous amount of money securing the services of some of the best business men in the world. They were each giving 5% of the company as a bonus and instantly began to serve on the board.

Then, one month later, we boomed. On July 1, we launched numerous new products and were given seventeen new grants for projects by the United States Defense Department. Finally, Lex Luthor's company, LexCorp, had competition. In fact, there were several economic analysts that thought that within the next year or so, Wayne Enterprises could buy out LexCorp. While I had no interest in doing that, it was an interesting thought.

My other life was just as successful. Batman had been a surprising success. Crime in Gotham, especially muggings and violent crimes, had slowly dipped the ten months Batman had been active. However, I was still working on slowing down the Mafia and other organized crime organizations in Gotham.

"Good evening, Bruce." a voice said behind me.

I turned around to see Board Member Carl Beaumont coming towards me.

"Carl! How are you this fine evening?" I replied in my best "drunken playboy" voice.

"Wonderful. Have you met my daughter, Andrea?" he replied, motioning to the woman walking up behind him.

"I don't believe I have." I replied, extending my hand to the beautiful red head that had just walked up. "Good evening, my name is..."

"I know who you are, Mr. Wayne. Everyone does." she replied, barely even looking at me.

"Wonderful. Would you be interested in taking my arm and wandering the room with me?" I replied, disgusting even myself.

"I don't think that's such a good idea."

Carl was apparently very worried about his place on the board, because the second she denied me, he intervened.

"Andrea, please walk with Mr. Wayne. It's the least you could do. For me?" he begged of her.

She looked at him for a moment and then replied with disgust.

"Ok." was her reply as I extended my arm and she took it.

For about twenty minutes, we walked around the room and talked to various socialites and media moguls in the room. Then, during a rather dull period, I spoke to her as a real person.

"I'm not really drunk." I spat out, not knowing what made me say it.

"Oh, really?" she replied sceptically.

"Really. It's all an act." I replied, cursing my newfound honesty with a woman I had never met before.

"Why do you do it?" she asked in response.

Suddenly, I had no answer. I realized I was going to have to lie.

"Throws the scent off of any business competitors. If they see me as a buffoon, they won't treat me as seriously and let me know information they wouldn't normally." I replied, hopefully doing a good enough job of covering my hatred of lying.

"Does anyone else know this?" she asked, pulling herself a little closer to me.

"Lucius might. I've never told him but he's far from stupid so I'm sure he can see that I'm acting." I replied.

"What about my father?" she asked.

"Your father is too concerned about his job to notice anything." I said frankly.

"Isn't that true."

"Do you want to get out of here?" I asked.

"Bruce Wayne, I'm not that kind of girl. I know your reputation." she replied with a smile.

"Again, the reputation I let get out. I pay the women that stay with me to say that we had sex. I think that's only actually happened once and that was because I genuinely liked her." I replied, smiling when I noticed the shock on her face.

"There really is more to you, isn't there?" she shot back.

"There has to be. There's nothing to the person that I portray in public." I remarked.

For a little while longer, we walked around the room, talking to Wayne Enterprises employees and such. However, just before we were about to leave, I noticed someone that definitely should not have been there. The man without a name, The Jester, or whatever you wanted to call him was talking with Carl Beaumont. With that, I turned to Andrea.

"Andrea," I started.

"Call me Andy." she said in reply.

"Ok, Andy, who's that man talking to your father?" I inquired.

"Oh him? I don't know. I know that he works for my father. I think he helps mediate some business deals that Father does outside of his work with your company."

"Interesting. Andy, I still want you to come over tonight. However, it will look to suspicious if I actually leave with the girl that I've spent most of the night with. So, I'm going to go over to that girl over there and get her to leave with me. You can leave here whenever you want. I would really like it if you came by Wayne Manor sometime tomorrow. How does 3 o'clock sound?"

"This morning?" she asked.

"If you want to." I said returning the wink she had given me earlier.

"OK, tomorrow afternoon sounds fine." she replied, obviously trying to cut me deep.

"Thanks, Andy. I'll see you tomorrow." I said, turning to leave.

* * *

**July 4, 1990**

**11:48 PM**

**GCPD HQ**

_"How did White get free?" _I asked Gordon in his office.

"Good behavior." Newly appointed Head of Major Crimes James W. Gordon replied, not looking up for the report he had been reading.

_"Do you think Thorne was involved?"_

"I'm not sure. These guys aren't as big time as Thorne's men usually are, but they did manage to buy a DA to get him out, so you never know."

_"What have you heard about him?"_

"Who? White? Nothing. We did find out that Joseph White isn't even his real name. He had his name changed about twenty five years ago but we can't seem to find what it used to be. It's like he never existed."

_"Career criminal?" _I asked in response.

"I don't think so. I think he's been hiding from them for the most part. I wouldn't be surprised if he had done something to piss off somebody in Metropolis. However, he does seem to be pretty mentally imbalanced. Even under his current legal name, he's been arrested twice for assault. However, his charges seem to get dropped shortly thereafter."

_"Owned by someone?"_

"Maybe but I believe that this guy might just be screwing around with us. I think that the guy is a little off his rocker and is mildly prone to violence but I think in the end, he's pretty harmless."

_"Do you have any information as to where I can find him?"_

"Actually, yes." Gordon replied with a smile. "Rumor has it is that he's been frequenting a couple of the Red Hood locations. We've had someone watching him for the last couple weeks. He's hit up Axis Chemical and the Iceberg Lounge recently. I think those would be a good place to start."

_"Thanks."_

And I was gone.

* * *

**July 5, 1990**

**2:13 AM**

**Iceberg Lounge, Gotham**

The Lounge was owned by a Gotham socialite known as Oswald Cobblepot. However, to the criminal community, he had codenamed himself "The Penguin." He had a penchant for wearing a tuxedo all the time and for carrying umbrellas. Unknown to most of Gotham, these umbrellas usually double as automatic weapons. I hadn't been able to get any solid information that he was working with Thorne or the Red Hood, even though he didn't hide that Rupert often came over to the Lounge for a drink.

After sitting on the rooftop of a nearby building for nearly two hours, he finally showed up. A limo pulled up to the front of the building and out stepped White, The Jester, or whatever the hell his name was. Instantly, he cut past the line and walked inside. For some reason, it hadn't dawned on me until now. Axis Chemical was the building adjacent to The Lounge. He had to be using the Lounge as an entrance to Axis without anyone noticing.

Instantly, I launched myself off the roof and used my cape to slow my fall. Silently, I hit the pavement below me and sprinted into the nearby alley. Running as hard as I could, I ran to the other side of the Lounge. Sure enough, he was already inside Axis Chemical as I could see through a first floor window. Anyone that knew anything in Gotham knew that Axis Chemical was only half used for the processing of chemical waste. The other half was a drug manufacturing and money laundering outfit run by the Red Hood. More than likely, it was run personally by White.

I pulled out my gas-powered grapple and launched it in the direction of the closest corner of Axis. When it was secure, I was hit the button to real me in. Within moments, I was launched to the top of Axis Chemical and with a short trip through the ventilation system, I was inside. Sure enough, White was parading around the building, overseeing all the illicit activities that were going on inside.

Quickly, I ran over to the fuse box that lay on the highest of the many catwalks that rose about the many people that sat on the first floor, processing what looked to be large amounts of heroin. Also on the first floor were several large vats of chemical and radioactive waste that was due for processing in the morning. Once I arrived at the fuse box, I quickly removed them, shutting off the lights in the main room. Only emergency lights and lights from the hallway were left on.

"Goddamn it! Can't this fucking place work, just once!" White's voice rang out over the darkness. "What the hell is going on?

No one replied. Suddenly, two gunshots rang out in the dark and confirmed my suspicions of his character.

"Anyone else got an answer?" he screamed.

"A fuse might have blown..." a timid voice said from the same catwalk I was on.

"Check it, you dumbass!" White yelled from below.

Suddenly, I felt someone brush right passed me. Utilizing the distraction the fuse box was placing on him, I jumped down to the floor and hid in the darkest corner of the room.

"The fuses are gone, boss!" the man on the top bellowed.

"What the fuck do you mean "they're gone?" White replied.

"Someone took them!" the man replied nervously.

"Fuck. It's got to be the goddamn Batman." White replied nervously. Suddenly, he turned into a military commander. "Everyone, spread out and find the freak! But don't kill him! I want to do that bastard in myself."

Swiftly, I stepped out from my hiding place and began to quietly eliminate my opponents. First, I jumped out and broke the arm of the man closest to me. Luckily, I was able to cover his mouth before doing it preventing the large yell that erupted from his mouth from escaping. Next, I came up behind another gun-toting guard and strongly punched him in the side of the head. Instantly, he dropped to the ground, motionless. A quick check of his pulse told me that while he would wake up with a mind-numbing heading, he would be fine. However, in the time that it had taken to do this, two guards had slowly gotten closer to my location. By the time I looked up, they were on me.

Automatic gunfire rang out as the two men fired relentlessly towards me. Lucky for me, I had chosen not to ditch the extra layer of Kevlar despite the intense heat of the evening. Unlucky for me, Kevlar doesn't work as well at nearly point blank range. I felt the first one plunge into my arm and another into my hip moments after the started. Fortunately, they were never taught that gunfire begins to spread when it is fired without a break. With a quick fire of my grapple, I was able to get away to the top catwalk, albeit in lots of pain.

I was getting ready to begin my assault again when one of the storage tanks on the lower level that had been hit with the gunfire exploded. The explosion rocked me to the core. Even a good sixty to seventy feet away from it, I was thrown against the nearest railing, putting my pain at a new level. Even though my body felt like it was on fire, I stood up to continue my assault. However, once I looked down on the bottom floor, my worst fear was realized. Joseph White, along with many of his henchmen, was dead. His face looked like it had been completely melted off, along with much of the suit that he had been wearing. Numerous bodies lay in flames on the floor. I was about to leave the situation to the Police when a voice rang out.

"Help me! Please, please Help ME!"

I looked over to notice a man hanging off of one of the catwalks, directly over one of the open chemical vats. Instantly, I ran as fast as my wounded body would allow me to get over there. It wasn't until I was steps away that I noticed something. Electrical wires had been pulled loose during the explosion and lay everywhere. Initally, falling into the vat of chemicals wouldn't have killed the man as long as he didn't ingest to much and could have been properly cleaned off within minutes. Chances are he probably would have contracted some kind of disease from it that would have stuck with him for a very long time, but in the end, he would have been alive. However, two different electrical wires lay inside the vat. The amount of electricity inside these wires wouldn't kill him instantly but would definitely cause him lots of pain before he did.

Also, another wire lay over the platform to get to him. My rubber boots would work to a certain extent but eventually the electricity in the wires would come after me just the same.

"HELP ME! PLEASE BATMAN HELP ME!" he screamed out again.

_"Stop struggling._" I ordered him. _"If you hold still, you'll be able to hold on longer."_

"OK. Please, just hurry!" he replied desperately.

Quickly, I pulled out my grapple again and aimed for a metal bar that hung just over where the man was hanging. Once it was firmly secure there, I dove off the platform I was on and let the wire retract, pulling me up to him. I was inches away from him when he suddenly lost his grip on the platform. A second seemed like it lasted forever as I reached down to grasp his hand, the two bullet wounds screaming out at me from inside.

"OH MY GOD! PLEASE PULL ME UP! PLEASE!"

_"Hold still." _I replied. _"I'm going to swing you over to the ground next to the vat."_

I pulled back and was ready to launch myself, with him, to the side of the vat when a door on the other side of the room opened up. Flood lights poured in through the door. I looked over to see Gordon and his partner Bullock, guns drawn.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" Bullock screamed from across the large room.

While I was perfectly calm, the thug I was holding onto was not. Bullock's voice booming across the room apparently frightened him enough to look his grip on my hand.

This time, I didn't catch him. I watched helplessly as he fell, screaming for help into the large vat of chemicals. In an attempt to save him, I launched myself to the floor, pain electrifying my body when I landed. Next to me, the nameless thug splashed into the chemicals. Instantly, I began to hear him as the electricity ran through his body. I ran to the other side of the vat where the computer panel was. Moments later, I was able to begin the drainage process. However, it would take nearly twenty seconds. I turned to Gordon.

_"Get the power for this building shut off now!" _I shouted desperately.

Instantly, he ran out of the building and across the street to the Lounge. I knew that it would be a couple minutes before he would be able to call the power company and get it shut off but it was the best we could do. Seconds later, the vat was empty. I crawled up the top of the giant chemical storage unit and looked down in. Thankfully, he hadn't come down straight on top of the wires. I quickly grabbed both of the wires and pulled them out, throwing them to the side without care. Next, I jumped down inside and grabbed the man. I swiftly ran up the side of the tank with him on my shoulder and once I was out, I laid him on the ground.

There were many things that could have gone wrong. He could have been electrocuted, he could have drowned, he could have been poisoned. However, I was able to lean in and feel the warmth of his breath on my face and I could see his pulse in his neck. Assuming he hadn't contracted anything from his brief exposure to the chemicals, he would be fine. I stood and turned to Gordon who had returned from the Lounge. He was breathing heavy but looked satisfied with himself.

"Power's off." he said just as the various exposed wires around the large factory's main room stopped sputtering.

"ON THE GROUND, HANDS ON YOUR HEAD!" Bullock suddenly screamed, redrawing his sidearm.

"I wouldn't suggest that." Gordon said with a smirk.

"Shut up, Gordon. We're taking him in now." Bullock replied, his eyes never leaving mine.

_"Gordon, this man needs a doctor and soon. White is dead. His men hit one of the large gas tanks while trying to shoot me and it exploded. The security tapes are up on the fourth floor. I would suggest you move quickly, Cobblepot might already have people over here trying to destroy them."_

"Great! Now, on the floor!" Bullock yelled.

"Stop it, Harvey. I'm calling off the manhunt." Gordon replied.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Bullock replied in obvious confusion.

"As Head of Major Crimes, I am calling this manhunt to an end. Batman helps more than he hurts. Loeb will agree with me."

"I still don't get it." Bullock shot back.

"It's not like we'd ever catch him anyway." Gordon mumbled in reply.

"What are you talking about? He's right here!" Bullock said, his eyes never leaving me.

Doing my best to contain a smirk, I finally spoke up again.

_"Not for long."_

I quickly pulled a smoke pellet out of my belt and threw it to the floor. While Gordon and Bullock spent the next thirty seconds coughing and hacking, I launched my grapple to the glass roof of the building and took my exit.

* * *

**July 5, 1990**

**6:00 PM**

"...was killed early this morning at Axis Chemical." Jack Ryder's co-host, Molly Blum, said without emotion. "White was famous for being the first criminal reportedly caught by the vigilante known as Batman. He was convicted of burglary and sentenced to two years prison time. He served seven months before he was released on good behavior."

"In other Batman news, Lt. James Gordon, Head of Major Crimes, has called off the hunt for Batman. This is what Gordon had to say on the matter." Ryder interjected.

A quick video of James Gordon appeared on the screen.

"While we do not necessarily agree with The Batman's methods, we do understand that he was not brought anyone forward who was not later convicted of a crime. Therefore, Commissoner Loeb has decided to stop wasting the manpower of GCPD officers on Batman and more about catching real criminals."

Alfred walked in the room just as Gordon was finishing up.

"I believe I won the bet, Master Bruce." he said without a smile.

"You did. Less than a year. How long did I say?" I asked, laughing.

"Never. While I must say that I do not always agree with your methods either, Lt. Gordon was too intelligent to keep a manhunt for you going forever, Master Bruce. It would just be making his job easier." Alfred replied as he finished preparing dinner.

"Too true, Alfred. Which charity would you like me to put the money towards?" I asked.

"Put it towards the Boy and Girls Club of Gotham, Master Bruce."

"No problem, Alfred."

Suddenly, the doorbell rang for the first time since I was a small child.

"Aflred, who was the last person besides you and me to come to this house?" I asked seriously.

"I believe that Randall Mayer came over when you were eleven." Alfred replied, not looking up from the quiche he was diligently preparing.

"I think we need more visitors." I replied.

"As do I, Master Wayne. Now, I must go get the door." Alfred said.

"I don't think so, Alfred. I've seen how you've been looking at that quiche. If you leave it, the chances of dust getting on it are just to high." I joked.

"Too funny, Master Bruce." Alfred replied dryly.

Leaving Alfred to attend to dinner, I made my way to the other side of the house to the front door. Sure enough, a bright red convertible and an equally red-headed woman lay in front of the house. Not wanting to make her wait any longer, I opened the door.

"About damn time!" she said through a smile.

"Sorry, it's a big house." I commented sheepishly, wondering what the hell was wrong with me that was making me act like this.

"Whatever, Wayne. You were just making me wait." she said as she walked towards me.

"Maybe. Now, Ms. Beaumont, would you like to come in?" I asked, stepping away from the door and waving her in like I had seen Alfred do millions of times as a child.

"Bruce, I would love to. Just don't ever call me Ms. Beaumont again." she said, following my gesture and walking through the door.

"Oh boy." I mumbled quietly to myself.

"What?" she asked, obviously hearing me.

"Nevermind." I replied, not wanting to ruin the moment.

We followed the aroma of Alfred's wonderful cooking to the second kitchen towards the back of the house. It was much smaller than the first one and had a small living area in it that gave it a more homely feel that you would expect to get from a house the size of Wayne Manor. We were greeted by the backside of my aging butler as he leaned forward, staring into the oven, obviously making sure that the quiche was coming out exactly as he wanted it to. A small cough let him know of our presence.

"Ah, Master Wayne." he said as he stood up and faced us.

"Alfred, this is Andrea Beaumont, Carl's daughter. Andrea, Alfred." I said as Andrea leaned forward to shake Alfred's hand.

"It's a pleasure, Alfred." she said with a smile.

"Ah, but it is all mine, Ms. Beaumont." Alfred said before he leaned forward to kiss her hand.

"Is that what you said "oh boy" for?" Andy asked, turning towards me.

"Yes."

"Well, you know what?" she asked.

"What?" was my simple reply.

"I like it coming from him."

Just as I was getting ready to reply, the news that had been playing on the TV caught my attention.

"Breaking News! A patient and accused Red Hood Gang member that was being held at Gotham General after his capture this evening has escaped." Ryder said with hardly any emotion.

Instantly, my mind went to the man who had been dropped into the vat. The man who had been nearly dead when we had gotten him to Gotham General.

"Coinciding with the man's escape are the murders of eleven members of the hospital staff on the floor he was being held. The nurse that had been in his room near the time of his escape was found with needles shoved in her eyes and a scapulae in her stomach. Near where she lay were the words "I am Joker." They appear to be written in blood. Doctors had told police that he would be unable to awaken for a couple days after injuries he sustained. As a result, police removed handcuffs from the patient in clear breach of police procedure. The identity of the man is unknown as he had no ID on him when he was taken from Axis Chemical and all attempts to identify him have been unsuccessful."

For what seemed like hours, I couldn't talk. Then, Andy brought me back to the present.

"Wow. Things are really going to hell in this town." she said in awe.

Instantly, I went to the phone and dialed the number of my secretary at Wayne Enterprises.

"Betty, it's Bruce. Call the police and find out the names of the hospital staff that were murdered at Gotham General today. Once you have that, call me back." I ordered into the phone before hanging up.

Andy came over to me, looking confused.

"Why did you need their names?" she asked.

"I am the leading financial donor to the hospital. In fact, most of the newest portion of the building is being built in my parents' name. Also, as a member of the board, I think it would be appropriate to send money to each family in order to help with a memorial service for their lost." I explained, covering the real reason I wanted those names with one that would be understandable considering my financial standing.

"You really are different that you appear on TV, aren't you?" she asked as she stopped walking towards me.

"I told you."

"You did. But, I heard-"

What she heard I would never know. Again, for some reason, the evening news caught my attention.

"Gotham City, a video was just dropped on the door step of Channel 7. While the police is working on check its authenticity, Channel 7 has granted all channels in Gotham to show it. I warn you that while there are no obscene images or foul language, this video should not be shown to small children."

For a brief moment, the screen went black. Then, the video started. It started it what appeared to be an empty garage. Suddenly, a voice rang over the empty screen.

"Two cannibals are eating a clown. One looks to the other and says..."

Without warning, the owner of the voice jumped in front of the camera.

"Does this taste funny to you!" he screamed into the camera. Even though the room that he was in was incredibly dark, you could still see his face. He had used white makeup to cover up his face but it hadn't worked completely. In fact, you could still see the scabs and the lines of bleeding wounds that were a result of the electricity that ran through his body. Also, there were signs around his eyes where the chemicals had started to seep in, despite his eyes being wedged shut due to the electricity seizing his body. But, nothing was as terrifying as his grotesque smile. The grin seemed to be frozen permanently. It was a disgusting sight.

"Oh boy, wasn't that funny? HA HA HA!" he yelled, laughing maniacally afterwards. Suddenly, he stopped laughing and looked into the camera again.

"I'm sorry, Gotham, but I don't hear you laughing." he said far too serious for my liking. "Well, you'll be laughing soon. You'll all be laughing soon! Be prepared, Gotham. Be prepared, Mayor Hill and Commissioner Loeb. But, the person who should be the most prepared of all is my oldest friend. _Batman."_ he said, doing his best to imitate the stony growl I use while in the cowl.

"You made me who I am today, Batman! Hoo Hoo and now there's nothing you can do but watch as Gotham City burns to the ground. All of this at the hands of THE JOKER!"

Seconds afterward, the video turned off and Jack Ryder graced the screen again.

"Anyone with information on the man who calls himself "The Joker" should call..."

Again, the news lost itself to my thoughts. I had created this monster. If I had been able to hold on to him, if I had just moved a little quicker, he would have lived and spent the rest of his days in jail. As it was, the electricity and chemicals had ruined him. For some reason, the thought occurred to me that this would not be the last time that I saw the Joker...


	7. Part 3: Tragedy under the Big Top

**February 14, 1991**

**7:03 PM**

**Wayne Manor**

She deserved to know the truth. Andrea had dealt with the random disappearances and the forgotten or missed dates. She had dealt with my workaholic nature and my absent ways for nearly seven months now and more than I wanted to admit, she was a part of my life. Even in just the few months that we had been together, I felt myself consistently getting closer to her in ways that I could not have imagined during the first year of my reign as the Dark Knight.

Things as Batman were improving, sort of. While organized crime had dropped to a low that hadn't been seen since just before my parents died, another form of crime had risen. That was in the form was named or themed psychopaths. There was The Penguin, who had fully adopted his title and was becoming more and more brazen in the public. Then, there was Victor Fries, otherwise known as Mr. Freeze. A freak accident occured while trying to cure his wife of cancer and it not only screwed up his physiology, which made it so that his body had to be kept at a temperature below freezing, but it also turned him into a madman capable of killing anyone who stood in his way.

However, the worst one had been The Joker. His madness and homicidal patterns were bad enough. But, the worst part about his was the fact that even seven months later, I still felt guilty for my part in his creation. No ID had ever been found on the man Joker used to be.

Not that it mattered. In just the last few months, he had been in control of a plot to destroy a bus, crash a plane, and blow up a small school. Luckily, I had been able to get everyone out of the school before it exploded, but that didn't stop the emotional scarring that occurs when a child watches the most solid institution of their life go up in smoke.

All of this had lead me to this point. I realized that Andrea was too valuable to me to lose and that I was just hurting her if she didn't know. She would have to be prepared if the day came when I was no longer around. She needed to know.

Andrea came over at about 7 that evening. Obviously, we were also celebrating Valentine's Day so I had Alfred prepare a meal that we could share in one of the back dining rooms. I thought that we could at least start things the normal way.

"Welcome, Ms. Beaumont." I heard Alfred say as Andy walked in the front door.

"Alfred, I think you can call me Andrea at the very least." she replied as I walked into the room.

"He hasn't addressed me by just my first name anytime I can remember." I interjected.

"Too right, Master Bruce. Formalities must be observed in my profession." Alfred replied, even giving a little bow as he said it.

"Alfred, you know that you are more than just a butler." I shot back.

"Maybe so, Master Wayne, but I choose to observe the rules that my family set in place when they began to serve yours two generations ago." Alfred replied. "Now, dinner is ready in the back dinning room, if you would like to make your way there."

"What do you say? You want to go back and eat?" I asked Andy.

"I do." Andy said as she began to lead me back to the dining room. And I thought this was my house...

When we sat down, Alfred treated us a wonderful meal. Each of us was given a wonderful Cesar salad with a dressing of Alfred's own creation. Next was a entrée of lamb with a red wine sauce and mixed vegetables as a side. Finally, for desert, Alfred made an amazing cake that had melted chocolate and caramel drizzled all over it. We each sat in food-induced bliss as we waited to move until we could do so without falling over.

Eventually, the food settled and we were able to move into the small living room and relax. We sat and talked for nearly an hour before I finally got the courage to tell her what I wanted to.

"Andy, I love you." I blurted out, interrupting the flow of the conversation.

Andy giggle before replying.

"I love you too."

I stood up and walked to the other side of the room. Once I got there, I turned to see Andy staring at me, concern in her eyes.

"What's wrong, Bruce?" she asked.

"There's something I've been hiding from you." I started. "Something big. Something that will change us and change who you are."

"What is it?" she asked again, concern still shown on her face.

"It's not that simple. I can't just tell you." I replied.

"Why not?"

"Because you have to know everything first."

"Then tell me everything." she replied as she stood and came towards me.

"As you probably know, my parents were killed when I was 11. For a long time, I was angry. I was angry at my parents for dying, at Alfred for not picking us up in time, but mostly, I was angry at myself for not doing something. I know I was young but that didn't stop me from being angry. So, I went looking for ways to ease the pain. Almost everyone would have started drinking or doing drugs, but not me. I dove into my work. Starting in the seventh grade, I never missed a single question on anything at school. I didn't have any friends and I didn't want them. With my grades and name, I was accepted into Princeton. While I was there, I never missed a single question and never missed a single class. In just three years, I graduated with a double major in Criminal Justice and Psychology. I wanted to be The World's Greatest Detective."

"Why aren't you?"

"Because I found out that even the World's Greatest Detective can't help Gotham." I replied with sorrow.

"What do you mean?" she asked as we sat back down on the couch.

"Once I graduated, I came back to Gotham for the parole hearing of the man who killed them. From the beginning, it was a farce. There was a dirty judge and a dirty DA. The man was getting out. I was asked by the court to come up and give a statement." I said, pausing briefly to collect myself. "I turned it into an even bigger joke. I yelled and screamed at the man and blamed him for my sadness. Then, I spent five minutes detailing the reasons he shouldn't be alive and why parents should have. I know that they would have been disgusted with my behavior."

"I'm sure they would understand, Bruce." she replied reassuringly.

"I doubt it. Anyway, I left the courthouse and sat in my car. I had brought a gun to the trial for protection. Once I left the building, my plan was to wait for him to come out and shoot him. I had the best lawyers money could buy and they would have been able to convince the DA to drop the charges. However, you know what happened. One of the Thorne's men got to him first. It was then that I learned that Chill had planned to rat Thorne out. He was trying to make up for what he had done. He wasn't a waste of space...I was."

I sat for a moment to collect my thoughts, remembering back to so long ago.

"So, in my continued anger, I went to meet with Thorne. During my meeting with him, he threatened Alfred and anyone else I cared about. Thankfully, he's been pretty low key since my return to Gotham, but then, I was scared. So, I faked my death and ran away. I knew that the police couldn't stop him and I knew that ,without training, I couldn't either. So, I stole someone's passport and boarded a plane to France."

"Why France?" was Andy's only reply.

"There was a contact that I had made there during my time at Princeton. I never knew his full name but I called him Cain. In the US, he was a legitimate business man. However, he was ,in all actuality, the leader of a group of assassins. His men were hired to perform hits on political parties all around the world. Historically, his organization had been behind every assassination attempt in the last 200 years. Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, Franz Ferdinand, Vladimir Lenin, Ghandi, JFK, RFK, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and the list goes on. While his men had been actively using more modern techniques to kill high profile targers, they often relied on stealth and deception to get to their objective. So, for two years, I stayed with him and his daughter Cassandra and learned from him."

"Did you kill?" Andy asked in fear.

"Almost, but I realised I coudn't do it. As a result, Cain said that my training with him was done. However, he send me to woman in India named Shiva. There, she taught me the most powerful martial arts techniques in the world. For another year, I stayed with her and trained, day and night. Eventually, when I felt that my learning was complete, I slipped away. Finally, I went up into the Himalayas to meet with the head of Cain's order, The League of Assassins. The man's name was Ra's Al Ghul and from him, I learned out to use fear to prey on the fearful. I became able to destroy the strong in body and mind. I learned out to become an fearful wraith. In the end, however, he wanted me to join his army to kill those who he deemed not worthy to roam the Earth. And so, again I left, seeking further training."

"Bruce, why did you look for this training? I thought you wanted to become a detective." Andy asked.

"Andy, I did become a detective. When I left Ra's after two years in Tibet, I went to Spain. There, I joined a small group of commercial thieves who would hijack ships from corporate entities. Then, they would sell what they sold on the black market. None of them ever knew who I was and as a result, I was able to use my name to get charges against me dropped. Once that happened, I decided that I was done with my training and ready to return home."

"Which you did last year." Andy finished.

"Yes." I replied. "I came home and immediately went to work. In order to do what I was planning, I would need supplies. Supplies that were not easy to come by. So, I was able to get back on the board at Wayne Enterprises and took over the R&D division. Then, I took what I needed. But, I also knew I would need information. So, I got in contact with Jim Gordon, the only good cop in town. After some convincing, he agreed to work with me."

"Doing what?" she asked, obviously getting impatient.

"Stopping crime in Gotham."

"How?" she pressed.

"By becoming something that criminals would fear. By becoming the wraith in the night." I replied shortly.

"How did you do that?" she asked, nearly yelling.

"Andy...I became Batman."

* * *

**February 16, 1990**

**4:45 PM**

** Wayne Enterprises**

Still no calls. After Andy had run out of the house two days ago, I had instructed my secretary to forward all calls to me, regardless of who called me. Of course, when normally my phone rang nearly off the hook, I hadn't gotten a single phone call during that time. I had resigned myself to the fact that I may never see her again. I was planning on closing up for the evening when Lucius Fox walked into my office.

"Good evening, Bruce." he said as he sat in front of my desk.

"Lucius, I have a feeling that this is not going to be a good meeting." I replied with a smile.

"You're right." he replied. "Today, charges were filed against Carl Beaumont for his financial support of the Red Hood Gang. All evidence says he was coerced but it still appears that he's going to go to prison, quite possibly for a long time."

"Great. What do you think we should do about this?" I asked, really not wanting to deal with this.

"I think that asking Carl to take an extended leave of absence makes sense for the company. Personally, I think that this will all get cleared up but just to be on the safe side, we need to do this." he said grimly.

"OK. I want him to have full pay while he's gone. But, I think that having him removed from the building's security roster and requesting he turn over all files regarding Wayne Enterprises over to us will make us look good publicly."

"Great. Do you want to tell him or do you want me to?" Lucius asked, obviously not wanting the task.

"I'll do it." I volunteered as Lucius breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thanks, Bruce. I'm not sure I could do it." Lucius said, standing to leave.

"No problem. Have a good night, Lucius." I replied as I reached across my desk to shake his hand.

"You too, Bruce." he said as he turned to leave.

I stalled for about ten minutes before getting on the elevator to go down a floor to Carl's office. After what had happened between Andy and I, Carl was the last person I wanted to see. But, I did have a responsibility to my family's company and that meant doing things I didn't want to. As I approached his office, I heard the sound of someone shuffling back and forth in the room. I softly knocked on the door and waited for him to answer. As Carl opened the door, it was obvious that he knew this was coming.

"Hello, Bruce." he said as he opened the door, making room for me to come in.

"Carl, how are you?" I said, taking a seat on the far wall.

"I obviously could be better." he replied, his eyes glued to the floor. "I really appreciate you keeping me around here, Bruce. Not many men would have kept someone around who wasn't a complete ally like me."

"I thought that you were a good business man and a good person. I know that I was right." I replied.

"Well, now that I'm done here.."

"Wait, what?" I replied in shock.

"Well surely you are going to remove me from the Board." he said matter-of-factly.

"No." I replied simply.

"What? I'm implicated in providing funds that gave The Red Hood Gang their guns! If I am convicted, I'm going to prison for ten years! I'll be almost seventy years old when I get out!" he replied, obviously not angry at me, but his situation.

"Wayne Enterprises understands that. However, _I_ believe that you were coerced into this. Whether that is true or not, only you know. However, I am asking you to take an extended leave of absence until this gets cleared up. We will give you your full salary without benefits and with basic insurance while you are gone. We expect that when you are acquitted, you return to work the next day." I informed him.

"Are you serious?" he asked in awe.

"Deadly." was my only reply.

Carl reached forward and grabbed my hand to shake it. "Thank you, Mr. Wayne! Thank you!"

"Carl, just because I'm helping you out doesn't mean you have to call me 'Mr. Wayne.' I'm still Bruce."

"Of course, Mr-ergh-Bruce."

"Wonderful. Now, you wouldn't happen to know where your daughter is at this time of day?" I asked.

"She just got a new apartment in the city. Actually, she purchased it from one of your new condominium complexes nearby." he said.

"Thanks, Carl. Which one?"

* * *

**February 16, 1990**

**5:10 PM**

**Andrea Beaumont's apartment**

I could hear her voice as she talked to someone up the stairs.

"Yes, I just moved in. I must say that while I love this place, rent is really high. I hope that I can afford it." she said to what I assumed was her neighbor.

"You do figure it out eventually." the neighbor replied.

"I hope so."

Finally, I couldn't wait anymore.

"Well, how about I figure it out for the both of you?" I interjected as I ascended to their floor.

"Mr. Wayne?" Andy's neighbor said. "Why, I don't think I've ever seen you here."

"That's because I've never actually come to this building before." I admitted.

The look on Andy's face was one of both anger and fear. Lucky for me, while I felt the same fear that she felt, I was such a good actor at this point that no one could tell, except for maybe her.

"So, how about free rent?" I asked the both of them.

"What?" they both asked.

"Well, I heard you both saying how expense this place can be. I know that I couldn't afford to lose such wonderful tenants as you. So, rent is free. I assume you'll still have to pay the utilities but that's not going into my pocket anyway." I replied.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. The look on their faces had to be worth a million. Finally, the woman I didn't know broke.

"Oh Thank you, Mr. Wayne! I can't tell you how much I appreciate that!"

"Don't mention it. Now, Ms. Beaumont, can I see you inside for a moment?" I asked, finally turning to focus my attention on her.

"Of course, Mr. Wayne." she replied, letting a small amount of anger edge out through her beautiful voice.

"It was nice meeting you, ma'am. I'll have my legal department draft up the paperwork for your rent. You should receive a phonecall before the end of the week." I said, effectively ending our conversation.

Seconds later, I was lead inside Andrea's scarcely furnished apartment.

"Not much in here." I commented lightly.

"I'm still moving in. I doubt that's what you're here to talk about. Am I right, Bruce?" she said, finally letting her anger come to the surface.

"You're right. I came to tell you that I wish I was sorry for the other night." I admitted to her.

"What?" she replied in confusion. "You aren't sorry? You don't regret laying that kind of pressure on me?"

"No." I replied.

"WHY NOT?" she replied as her brown eyes seemed to melt into a fiery orange.

"Because I do love you, Andy. I love you and I want you to be with me. However, I didn't feel like it would be fair to you to understand what you were _really_ getting yourself into. If you don't want to be with me, whether it's because of that or not, I understand. But I felt that you needed to know what was going on in order to really make that decision."

Finally, Andy seemed to relent. She walked across the barren room to the single chair situated in the center of the room and took a seat.

"Bruce, I'm angry because I do want to be with you. But I want to be with you, not _Batman."_ she replied softly, not looking up from the floor.

"Andy, to be with me is to be with Batman. We are one and the same. I wouldn't be Bruce Wayne without Batman and Batman couldn't be Batman without Bruce Wayne. We are a symbiotic relationship of the mind. The two of us can no longer survive without the other. Maybe someday when I'm older and my body shuts down, I'll be able to give it up. But right now, Gotham needs Batman too much to quit. I've done so much good and I know that I can do more."

"I know, Bruce. I really do. That's what is making this so hard. I know that you can't quit. I know that you have to do what you do. I just don't know what will happen the first time you come home with a bullet in your leg."

Finally, I was able to relax.

"Oh come on, that's not even the worst thing that could happen." I laughed.

"Bruce, not now." she replied with a small smirk.

"Sorry."

"No, I'm sorry, Bruce. I shouldn't have run out on you the other night. You were opening up to me and telling me the complete truth, something I don't get very often."

"What does that mean?" I asked in confusion.

"Apparently my father has been giving the Red Hood Gang money. I thought my father was a good man. It turns out he was just as bad as the rest of the world." Andy said, anger radiating of her. It was then that I realized that most of the anger she had shown to me was probably not all my fault.

"Your father is not a bad man. He just got caught up with the wrong people. I'm sure he has a good reason for what he did." I replied, trying to cheer her up for even just the tiniest while.

"Like the Joker has a good reason for what he does, Batman?" she replied, venom and anger flying from her mouth.

"Touche." I replied.

For a couple minutes, neither of us spoke. I'm sure that she was thinking about exactly what I was thinking about. Was this relationship worth the trouble? For me, it was simply trying to keep the lives of Bruce Wayne and Batman balanced. Was it possible with her in my life? For her, it was the same question but different reasons. Was it worth it to be with a man who would leave every night and not return until the late hours of the morning?

"It is." she whispered quietly to herself.

"What is?" I asked.

"It's worth it. I want to do this. I want to try and make this work." she said, looking up at me for the first time today.

"I do too, Andy."

She stood up and walked across the room towards me. When she reached me, I pulled her in and kissed her softly. For some reason, it felt like the first time all over again. I guess when you change as much as we had over the last few days, things seem knew sometimes.

"Now, I need a date to the charity circus that's in town..." I said, asking in my own way.

"Of course, Bruce Wayne. I would love to. Can Batman stay home for one night?" Andy asked in reply.

"He can try." I said, noting that broken promises could end up being a trademark of this relationship.

"I'll take it."

* * *

**February 20, 1990**

**8:12 PM**

**Wayne Enterprises Arena**

The circus was in town and life was as normal as I could remember it being since taking up my role as the Dark Knight. The Hanson Circus, known as the best in the world, was in town and giving a performance to the best and brightest of Gotham. As Bruce Wayne, I was both. So while the show had started nearly fifteen minutes ago, I, as the drunken buffoon I was, decided to show up late. Andy had obviously been involved in the planning of that now that she was on the same page as I.

As we showed up, reporters and Paparazzi photographers appeared from nowhere to interrogate us. After nearly fifteen minutes of answering thousands of stupid questions, we made it free from them and to our seats. We were in the prime box, next to the owner of the circus and his entourage. As we walked in, the owner greeted us.

"Good evening, Mr. Wayne. My name is Edward Hanson, but please call me Eddie." he said as he shook my hand.

"Eddie, thank you for inviting me this evening. This is my date for the evening, Andrea Beaumont." I said as I motioned towards Andy.

"Delighted. I hope you enjoy the rest of the performance." he said as he turned to face the crowd again.

"I'm sure we will." I replied as we took our seats.

For twenty minutes or so, we watched without worry. We watched as men tamed lions and as contortionists bent in ways that didn't seem possible even by my twisted version of what was and wasn't possible. However, it was during a brief break before the acrobats were schedule to go on that someone joined us in the box.

"Good evening, Mr. Hanson." said a rough voice behind us.

I turned around but before I could see his face, he pulled on what appeared to be a clown mask. I could see a gun in his hand. Just as I was about to stand up, he turned and looked in my direction.

"Sit down, Wayne. I'm not here for you." he said in that same scratchy voice. "Now, Hanson, you promised me half of tonight's proceeds. How is that going to happen when it's all going to charity?"

"You tell me, J."

"J? You think you can call me J?" he said, obviously enraged. "Do you not respect me, Hanson, huh? Huh?"

"Of course I respect you." Mr. Hanson replied, fear in his voice.

"Well then call me by my _full _name." the man replied threateningly.

"I respect you, _Joker._" Hanson said softly, tears flowing from his eyes.

Instantly, I turned around and looked at him again. Sure enough, he fit the Joker's size, weight, and overall image. Also, what I thought to be a mask was simply the thick scar tissue that had covered the Joker's face. I should have known his angry, rough voice from anywhere.

"Now, Mr. Hanson, I expect to get my half of the money for tonight." The Joker said, anger filling his voice.

"I can't do that. The money for tonight's program is going to the homeless shelters of Gotham. I won't even see it." Hanson said, tears now freely rolling.

"Eddie m'boy, you have nothing to fear. However, the acrobats in your show might be a different story. Do you know what happens when a robin loses its wings, Mr. Hanson?" Joker asked with a menacing edge.

"no..." was all Hanson could mutter.

"_They die."_

Instantly, the Joker turned and left. I turned and looked at Mr. Hanson. He had his head buried in his hands. I leaned over to speak with him.

"What was that all about?" I asked quietly.

"It turns out the Joker is quite a business man. He conned me into giving him and his gang of crooks half of the money from tonight's event. Unfortunately, the main operator of the circus made an arrangement to give all of the proceeds to charity. I tried to talk them out of it but they wouldn't budge. Somehow, he found out."

I turned to Andrea.

_"Stay here. No matter what happens don't leave from this spot." _I said in the voice I usually reserved for my alter ego.

"OK." she replied, obviously afraid of my sudden transformation.

Slowly, I stood from my seat and made my way down the many stairs to the bottom floor. Once I was down there, I made my way over to the entrance to the main ring. Without my "evening" gear, there was nothing I could do. Even with the "Bat-cycle" on remote, it would take nearly thirty minutes for it to get here. So, I was stuck in the worst possible place, waiting for something bad to happen.

Finally, the ringmaster walked passed me, getting ready to start the next part of the performance. Once he made it to the center of the ring, he turned on his microphone and started the show again.

"Beauts and Gents, you've seen wonderful things tonight. But, I am pleased to announce that you have seen nothing in comparison to our next act! They are the most dynamic acrobat family in the world! They have traveled near and far to perform for the most famous people in the world! They are The Flying Graysons!"

Suddenly, three acrobats went flying across the roof of the stadium. I didn't want to admit it but they were incredible. In a flash, they were doing a routine like I had never seen before. In fact, I believe that the only person who could have done their routine, other than them, was me. It was obvious that they were a family. The amount of trust that the two adults put in each other was remarkable. However, the one I couldn't keep my eyes off of was the youngest one. Where his parents would insert one flip, he would follow with two. He was truly remarkable.

The ringmaster had come to stand next to me after he came off stage, obviously aware of who I was because he kept sneaking looks at me out of the corner of his eye every couple of seconds.

"What are their names?" I asked him. His reaction was priceless. It was obvious that he had wanted to talk to me but that he didn't want to bother me.

"Well, the two parents are John and Mary and the young star is Richard. If we don't lose that boy to the Ringling Bros., he's going to make us tons of money. I've never seen a child that's as talented as he is." the ringmaster replied in glee.

"Neither have I." I replied distantly.

I watched in awe as young Richard worked his magic on the trapeze. However, my attention was suddenly drawn to the ramp on the other side of the stadium. There stood the Joker, a small two-way radio in his hand. His horrible smile was visible even this far away and I knew that I wouldn't be able to stop him. But, I also knew that I had to try. I turn quickly on the spot and sprinted back up the ramp. Once I reached the top, I turned to my right and sprinted down the curving hallway that circled the field area itself.

For what seemed like forever, I ran. I was almost to the other side when I heard a collective cry come from inside the arena.

I was too late.

Knowing what lie beyond me, I ran even harder hoping I could salvage something. Suddenly, just as I hit the ramp, the crowd exploded in applause. Confused, I ran down the ramp to see everyone in the stadium on their feet. I looked up at the large jumbotron that hung from the middle of the arena and where basketball stats would normally be displayed, a replay of their previous stunt was shown. Richard had launched himself off on of the platforms. Two levels lower, his parents waited for him. At just the right time, they each leaped off the platforms, taking the trapeze with them. As he fell, he grabbed his father's feat, slowing his momentum. Then, at just the right time, he grabbed the feet of his mother and he then turned and performed a double back flip onto the platform opposite them.

It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. However, I was still not deterred from my mission. Sure enough, I looked down to see Joker, still stationed at the end of the ramp. Slowly, I creped down the ramp. Suddenly, he turned to face me, gun aimed squarely at my forehead.

"I had you pegged as a meddler, Wayne. Too much vodka will do that to you, right?" Joker said. This is as close as I had been to him since I had dropped him into that vat last year. It was disgusting.

"Now, you get to watch as the wee boy dies." he said, turning around before putting the radio to his mouth.

"Do it." he said calmly.

Suddenly, the entire platform collapsed. I sprinted passed the Joker, not caring if he shot me. I just knew that I needed to save these people. Lucky for me, most of the circus performers and stagehands had gotten out of the way. All that was left was the Grayson family.

I noticed that Richard had been lucky enough to grab one of the few tightropes that had not been attached to the main trapeze platform. That saved me the time of trying to get to him too. However, his parents were both hanging on to the side of one of the banners that had been hung next to the performing area. I initially wasn't worried for their safety, until I noticed something. The large net that had been hanging below the trapeze had been attached the platform. When the platform fell, so did the net. Now, I was afraid.

I climbed up the bleachers next to the pole the banners were on. Lucky, I wouldn't have to blow my cover. The pole had a series of ladder steps on it that I was able to climb up to get to the top. However, in the time it took me to get to the top, the Graysons' grip had weakened. I looked down on the ground to noticed that young Richard had gotten down from the tightrope and was waiting down below.

Finally, I reached the top. I looked down and noticed the fear in the eyes of both of the fearless circus performers.

"Mr. and Mrs. Grayson. You're going to be ok." I said, trying my best to look convincing. However, I knew the situation was grim. Their grip was weakening on the top of the fabric banner and even if it wasn't, there was nowhere to put them once I would have pulled them up.

"Bruce Wayne?" John Grayson said to me.

"Yes. But we'll have time to take care of introductions later. Now, I want you to reach up and grab the metal bar that the banners are on. If you need any help securing yourselves, just let me know and I'll get you there." I said, trying to remain as calm as possible.

"I can't." Mary said softly. "I think I broke a rib just catching this. I can't lift myself at all."

"Same here." John said. "The only way we can get up there is if you pull us up."

_Great_, I thought to myself. I reached down and grabbed Mary's hand.

"This is probably going to hurt but it'll be OK." I said to her. I was getting ready to pull her up when a gunshot went off. I looked up and saw my worst fear. Joker stood there with Richard, his gun aimed at his temple.

"Here's how this is going to work, Wayne." The Joker said. "You're going to stop that."

"Or what?" I yelled over the noise of everyone scrambling to leave the Arena.

"Or I'll kill you. And if for some reason that doesn't work, I'll pop one into the head of little Richard here."

Suddenly, Richard stepped on the Joker's foot and turned to punch him in the stomach.

"My name is Dick!" he screamed.

He then turned to run away. However, the Joker was too quick for him. He grabbed the boy, slapped him in the face and then threw him to the ground.

"Ok, _Dick, _have it your way. Wayne, you have three seconds to stop what you're doing or I'll kill the boy." he said, cocking his gun.

I was officially screwed. On one side, the boy would die if I helped his parents. On the other, he would surely end up an orphan if I didn't help his parents. I was in the middle of some heavy thinking when John spoke up.

"It's ok, Mr. Wayne." he said softly, tears silently rolling down his face.

"Just promise that he'll be taken care of." Mary added, the same tears rolling down her face as she turned to look at her husband. "I love you, John."

"I love you, Mary."

"You don't have to do this!" I pleaded with them.

"We do, Mr. Wayne. He deserves to have a good life. Not one that ends when he's twelve. We've seen everything. We found each other. Just make sure he has a good life. Please, Mr. Wayne?" Mary replied.

Fighting the urge to reach down and grab them, I replied.

"I promise you."

Suddenly, John and Mary Grayson let go off the large banner that had been their lifeboat. Moments later, they hit the ground with a crack. I looked down and, sure enough, the fall had done exactly what we had all expected it to do.

John and Mary Grayson were dead.

Dick jumped up from where the Joker had thrown him down and ran to the bodies of his parents. Instantly, I started my way down the ladder, taking it four or five at a time.

"NOOOOO!" the voice of the young acrobat rang out.

"Game's over, kid." The Joker said, stepping forward his gun drawn.

Lucky for Dick, I had gotten to the bottom of the ladder at the right time. Unfortunately for me, it meant taking a bullet in the shoulder without Kevlar on. Just as Joker pulled the trigger, I jumped in front of Dick. He had shot from a distance that was far enough away that the bullet didn't go through me and hit Dick, which had been my intention. Instantly, I dropped in place. Just as I passed out, I watched as the Joker was swarmed by police. However, my last vision was that of Dick, laying over the bodies of his late parents, sobbing.

* * *

**February 21, 1990**

**8:21 AM**

**Gotham General Hospital**

I was glad I decided to wear so much protection when I went out as Batman. I couldn't take laying in a hospital bed this long. Bruce Wayne but especially Batman was not intended to lay in this bed for this long.

"Good morning, beautiful." a sweet voice said to me.

I turned and looked to see Andrea at the door.

"Morning, Andy. How are you?" I replied softly.

"Good. And you?" she asked as she sat down next to me.

"Let's just say I've better." I said with a smile.

"That's too true."

We sat and talked for the next twenty minutes. Suddenly, a man I recognized from my other life walked in.

"Good morning, Mr. Wayne." Jim Gordon said.

"The name is Bruce, Officer Gordon." I replied, resisting the strange urge to use my "Bat-growl"

"Well then, the name is Jim." he laughed.

"OK, Jim. What can I do for you?" I shot back.

"Well, first off, when you are ready, we would like to get your statement back at the station." Jim said shortly.

"Will do. Do you have a secretary I can call?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes. Do you want her number?"

I laughed before responding, "I'm sure I can get it from someone else. What else is on your mind?"

"Well, someone would like to talk to you."

Instantly, my mind went to the thousands of reporters that would surely want my story.

"Look, Jim, I'm not really interesting in talking to reporters."

"Great. He's not a reporter."

"Really? Who is he?" I asked in confusion.

"Just a sad, little boy who would like to talk to you about his parents." he replied.

As I realized who he was talking about, I knew I couldn't deny him. Not that I would have wanted to.

"Is he here?" I asked.

Jim nodded. "Yeah, he's here."

"Great. Send him in."

Jim walked out of the room. As he did, I turned to Andy.

"Do you trust me?" I asked her quickly.

"Of course, Bruce."

"Then, I need you to understand that sometimes I need to do things." I informed her, much harsher than I wanted to.

"What do you mean?"

"I promised something to someone. I can't break that promise. I'll explain things to you in more detail." I promised her.

"OK."

The next moment, Jim walked in, followed by a young Dick Grayson.

"Dick, this is Bruce Wayne. He was the man who saved your life." he said. "Now Dick, I'm going to be just outside. Just let me know when you're ready to go."

"OK, Officer." Dick said, his eyes never leaving the floor. Then, Jim left the room and Andy and I were left with the new orphan.

"Hello, Dick." I said, hoping it would start a conversation. I didn't expect it. I remember that it was almost a month before I was able to have a good conversation with someone after my parents' death.

Suddenly, he turned and sat in the other chair, next to Andy.

"Mr. Wayne-"

"Call me Bruce." I said, interrupting him.

"OK, Bruce. Officer Gordon said your parents were killed too. Is that true?" he asked curiously.

"It is. A thief killed my parents when I was eleven." I replied.

"Does it ever stop hurting?" he asked, tears in his eyes.

"No." I replied quietly.

"How do you deal with it?"

I quickly realized that I couldn't tell him the truth. However, I wasn't going to lie to him either.

"You face it. You'll eventually learn that everything happens for a reason and that sometimes, things happen."

"OK." he said softly.

"Dick, I know you may not want to hear this right now. But just before your parents...you know-"

"Died?" Dick finished harshly.

"Yes. Before they died, they made me promise them something." I informed him.

"What? What could they make you promise?" Dick asked.

"They asked me to make sure that you were taken care of. That you got to have a good life." I said.

Dick looked confused. "That's it?"

"Yes, Dick. That's it. Now, I would like for you to come live with me. If you don't want me to adopt you, I understand. You could live at my house as a ward. I would take care of you and be responsible for you."

Dick looked shocked.

"Why would you do that?" he asked.

"Because your parents believed that you deserved the best kind of life and I know that I can give that to you. I want to give that to you."

"Do I have to go to school?" he asked.

"Well, I could afford to have you privately tutored but I don't think that would help you any. In fact, I would probably have you attend the Hall Institute. It's a private school in Gotham that I went to."

"Are you sure, Bruce?" Dick asked.

"Dick, both of our parents were killed for just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I know that if I hadn't had all the money my parents left me, I wouldn't have turned out as well as I did. I want to give you that same opportunity. What do you say?"

He sat in his seat and thought for what seemed like forever. I thought he would never answer when finally he stood up.

"Sounds good, Bruce."

"Good, go get Det. Gordon and we can start filling out the paperwork."

"OK." and then he ran out the door.

As soon as he was out, Andy was on me.

"Bruce? What's happening to you?"

"He's a good kid. He deserves to be happy."

"That's not all, Bruce. I know you." she replied.

"That's true. This kid is the best acrobat I've ever seen, even better than me."

Suddenly, Andy understood the other half of the reason I wanted to bring Dick into my home.

"The next Batman?"

"Not yet. It would be silly to try and throw him into this so soon. No, I'm sure eventually I will reveal my identity to him and then it will be his decision. If he decides to join me, that's great. If not, I've helped a boy grow and have a good life after watching the death of his parents."

Andy smiled as she looked at me.

"There's more and more to you than I even realized, Bruce Wayne."

"I certainly hope there's even more." I replied.


	8. Part 4: The Robin Flies

**May 11, 1992**

**Hall Institute**

**1:13 PM**

**Dick Grayson**

Any other thirteen year old would have hated doing schoolwork. However, I found it to be the most relaxing thing in the world. For my whole life, I had traveled around the world, performing for the best and the brightest in the world while my family received nothing in return. I didn't blame Mr. Hanson. He really was a nice man. I understood that he needed to make money on us. And I know that he took care of us when we were on the road. It just sucked that my family never had any money.

Oh, how my life had changed. A little over two years, my parents had died in an accident caused by the Joker. They hadn't done anything wrong and I hadn't deserved it either. Nothing anyone could have told me would have prepared me for that day. It was amazing that things could be going so well for me so shortly after their deaths. I didn't go a day, or even half of one, without thinking of them. But every time I think about them, I think about the promise they made Bruce make. All they wanted was what was best for me.

If my life wasn't the best now, I didn't know what was. Being the ward to Bruce Wayne, the wealthiest man in the country not named Luthor, was amazing. He had gotten me into the Jonathan C. Hall Institute, a private school that lay just outside of Bristol, the community where Wayne Manor was located. I loved it. Not only did I love it because I got that hang out with people my own age, I liked it because I got to hang out with _girls _my own age.

Today, my math teacher, Mr. Edwards, was in a particularly foul mood. He was the only teacher in the whole school that I didn't like. He had been fired from the R&D Department at Wayne Enterprises by Bruce. Apparently, he had been pushing some steroid that would create this generation's super soldier. Bruce thought it was unethical and asked for his resignation. Lucky for him, his degree had been in Secondary Math and he had graduated from the Hall Institute. Unlucky for me, they hired him.

"Grayson!" he shouted at me from his desk. "Come to the board and solve this equation!"

Slowly, I stood up and made my way to the front of the class. I knew why he had targeted me over everyone else. First, I hadn't been paying attention. I had been to busy paying attention to Barbara Gordon, the daughter of the new Police Commissioner. Commissioner Gordon had been the one who had been there for me after my parents' death. Bruce had told me a couple months ago how Commissioner Gordon had also been there for his parent's death, only as Sgt. Gordon. It was the strangest things that tied Bruce and I together.

The second reason he had targeted me was the same reason he always targeted me. He targeted me to prove to himself, and everyone in the class, that he was better than me and as a result, Bruce Wayne. Unfortunately, he wouldn't have been allowed to ask me questions that were unreasonable so he was forced to ask questions that were just barely too advanced for a 9th grader. Also unfortunate for him was the fact that I had never been wrong when I went to the board and that wasn't likely to change anytime soon.

9(3x+4)=-5x+132

That was the equation that I saw before me on the board. I had been silently working it in my head on my way up to the board. Once I reached the board, all I did was grab a piece of chalk and write "x=3." Then, I turned and went to my seat to sit down without saying a word.

"EXPLAIN YOURSELF, GRAYSON!"

"Distrubute the 9, that gives you 27x+36=-5x+132. Then, add 5x to each side. That's 32x+36=132. After that, you subtract 36 from each side, giving you 32x=96. Divide each side by 32 and you get x=3." I explained calmly, winking to Barbara.

"Congratulations, Grayson. Class dismissed." he said quietly as he sat in his seat.

Thankfully, we all rose to leave. I threw my things back in my bookbag and walked out. Moments later, Barbara had come up next to me.

"Man he's a jerk." she said as we walked to our next class. Somehow, we had ended up with the same schedule for the second year in a row. All I know that is that I wasn't complaining.

"I know. Oh well. Hey Babs, you should come hang out at the Manor tonight." I asked her.

"Maybe, but first, you have to stop calling me Babs." she said as she punched me in the arm.

"But why? It's such a good name for you, _Babs."_ I taunted her.

This time, I was much more prepared for her strike. Just as her fist started to come forward, I stepped back and grabbed it. With one swift motion, I flipped her around and pulled her into a dance like embrace. Her face was bright red and I lead her around the junior hallway. Finally, a couple minutes later, she had had enough of me and let go. We were just about ready to head to American History when I heard someone approach me from behind.

"Hey, Dick." the voice rumbled.

I turned around to see Michael Powers, the starting running back on the Hall football team and the school's biggest bully, staring me down.

"Oh hey, lightning." I joked in return.

"Don't fuck around with me. I thought I told you to stay away from Barbara." he said as he leaned in towards me. "She's my girl."

"Well, short circuit, I don't think that's the truth. You see, I figure she's my girl more than anyone else's." I replied arrogantly.

"Grayson, you always gotta try and be funny don't ya?" he asked thickly.

"Nope. This time, I'm telling the truth." I said without a hint of humor. "Right, Babs?"

Barbara laughed before she replied.

"As much as I hate you calling me that, yes, definitely more you than short circuit."

"OK, Grayson. Let's do this!" he said, adopting his favorite fighting stance.

Now, everyone in The Hall Institute knew that Mike Powers liked to fight and could always get away with it. Everyone also knew that he had been trying to get me to fight him for nearly a year to no avail. Suddenly, I had the urge to take him on.

"OK." I replied softly.

Instantly, he launched himself at me. With a quick step, I was out of his way and with another, I was back on him. A quick flurry of punches and kicks left Powers powerless to stop me. After a couple minutes of beating the shit out of him, I got bored and let him stand back up again.

"That's it! I'm gonna kill you!" he said, drawing a knife from his back pocket. Suddenly, I knew that I had to end this as quickly as possible. Just as he lunged the knife towards me, I stepped out of the way and grabbed the arm. In one quick motion, I brought the arm down on top of my rising knee. Just as he let out a huge yell, I could fell as his forearm broke under the pressure from the rising knee. In a flash, he fell to the ground, clutching his arm, howling like a dog.

"GRAYSON!" came the one voice I didn't want to hear. Sure enough, I turned and saw Mr. Edwards sprinting down the hall towards me. Once he stopped and took time to catch his breath, he grabbed me by the arm.

"Principal's Office! NOW!" he said as he dragged me to my certain doom.

* * *

**5:53 PM**

**Wayne Manor**

**Bruce Wayne**

"Five days?" I asked Dick as he explained to me what had happened at school today.

"Yeah. They said it would have only been three if I hadn't intentionally broken his arm." Dick said, obviously embarrassed but also failing to hide a small smirk. I knew that he couldn't act like this. Not anymore, not after what I was going to share with him. However, I knew that I wasn't his parent, so I simply changed my orignial plan.

"Come with me, Dick." I said as I turned and headed towards the study. The entrance to the cave had been redone in the last year, going from a staircase to a clock. Dick often complained that the clock didn't work and I usually countered with the fact that he was only in the study to study and he shouldn't be paying attention to the clock. Slowly, I weaved the way back to the clock. Once we were there, I turned to him.

"Can you keep a secret?" I asked softly.

"Why do I need to keep a secret?"

"Because what I'm about to show you only three people on the Earth know. Myself, Andy, and Alfred. I'm asking you to be the fourth. However, once I show you, you have to swear an oath to me. Swear that you will not tell _anyone_ what you see." I said, allowing a small amount of my typical Bat-growl to slip in at the end.

"OK, Bruce. What's the big deal?" he asked like the typical fourteen year old.

I turned to face the clock and put it at 10:47, the time of my parents' death. Sure enough, I heard a click and the clock opened. I turned to look at Dick one more time.

"Dick, speak of this to no one."

"OK..." he replied softly.

Then, I turned and slowly descended the long staircase that lead to the main floor of the Batcave. I had shut the lights off and so Dick was forced to rely on everything but his sight. It took nearly two minutes to walk down the stairs. I intentionally walked slower for some reason. Maybe I wanted him to be excited, maybe I wanted to scare him. All I know is that when I got the bottom, I knew that he would be ready. The time it had taken to walk down the stairs had changed him. Instead of trying to look into the darkness, he had closed his eyes, allowing his other senses to take over and tell him what he couldn't see with his eyes. Already I knew that I had made the right decision.

"Dick, what you are about to see is my life. It is everything to me and to Gotham City. There is no Bruce Wayne without this. I don't know how to tell you how important this is. Are you ready?" I asked him finally.

This time, his answer was a simple nod.

With that, I spoke to the computer.

"Lights."

Instantly, all of the lights that I had installed in the cave turned on, illuminating the cave. He could now see the new "Bat-mobile," a modified Chevy Corvette. I had taken military-grade plating and painted it black and covered the car. It now looked like a small sports tank. I had created it because I wanted Dick to be able to ride with me when we went out on patrols from now on. He could also see the uniform bay, where three identical versions of my suit where located, ready to be put on for a night in Gotham. But, most of all, he was able to see the newest addition to the cave. His training suit. It was red, made out a similar material to mine but with more give in it to allow him to use his amazing acrobatic skills while still in uniform. The sleeves were black and so was the retractable bo staff that came with it.

"What is this, Bruce?" Dick said in amazement.

"This is my life. And yours, if you want it. I left Gotham City for a long time when I was younger to train with the best in the world to become who I am today. I came back and became Batman in order to stop the kind of people that killed my parents and yours. However, I've slowly realized over the years that this isn't something I can do alone. I need help, Dick, and that's where you come. This offer is on the table for one week. For the next six months, you will go to school and you will maintain a 3.5 GPA. Then, you will come home and you will have two hours to do your homework and eat. Then, you will come down here and train with me from 6PM until 9PM. Finally, you will be required to stay here and man the computer from 9PM until 12AM. On weekends, you will be given until noon. Then, we will train from Noon until 4PM. You will get an extended break from 4PM-8PM. Then, from 8PM until 2AM, you will man the computer. The only reason that this will be broken is if you have a school commitment. That doesn't include going and hanging out with friends. Once you are given your role alongside me, your time will open back up and you will be able to do whatever you like until 8PM when you are expected to be back here for suit-up and debriefing. I'll give you a week to think about it."

Instantly, Dick replied. "I'm in."

"Are you sure, Dick? This is a huge commitment."

Dick laughed.

"I know, Bruce. Now, I'm sure there are rules. Things we can't do."

"There's one."

"What?"

"We never, _ever_ kill."

"Huh? You want me to go hunt criminals and just arrest them? Send them home to their parents?" Dick asked.

"Yes. We are not criminals, Dick. We will never become criminals. If you can't agree to that, then you are not welcome in this cave." I said harshly. I knew it was rough, but he needed to understand.

"But, what about the Joker? He killed my parents. Doesn't he deserve to die?" Dick asked in frustration.

"Yes, he does." I replied honestly.

"THEN WHY DON"T WE KILL HIM?" Dick screamed.

I took a step closer to him.

"Because then we become him."

Dick was finally struck silent.

"When the man who killed my parents was released from prison, all I wanted to do was kill him. Then, someone killed him in front of me. And I realized that it didn't help at all. Only when I faced the death of my parents did anything help. When I realized they were gone and there was nothing I could have done to stop it, I grew the strength to fight those who would do the same but without becoming them. I'm asking you to do the same."

Dick paced back and forth for nearly thirty seconds before turning to me again.

"What's my name?" he asked.

"What?" I replied in confusion.

"Well, you're Batman, but I'm sure as hell not going to be Batboy. So, what's my name?" he asked, clarifying his question.

"We don't really need to worry about that right now, Dick." I replied in frustration.

"Sure we do. I need to know."

"Why?"

"Because I know that if I have a name, I will want to work harder." Dick said.

"OK, fine. What do you want to be called?" I asked, trying to work with my new protege.

"Nighthawk." he replied instantly.

"What about a different bird? Something more acrobatic?"

"Robins are pretty quick, aren't they? My mom always called me that." he replied.

"Robin?" I suggested.

For five or six seconds, Dick had no reply. Then, he spoke up boldly.

"For my mother and father, Robin."

"OK, Robin, are you ready to begin?" I asked him.

"I am."

* * *

**September 23**

**8:43 PM**

**Dick Grayson**

He had never worked me this hard before. Since six o'clock, I had already done six miles on the track, four hundred pushups, and three hundred sit-ups. But, it was the sparring that was pushing me to the brink. In the few months that I had been working with Bruce, he hadn't let up on me once. Even when I was sick or sore from the previous night, he hadn't let me out of a training session. He had given me one night off in that entire time and that was because I had a big project to work on for school. It was intense. However, once I got done with my workout, Bruce did something he had never done before: he sparred with me. Usually, I would train by hitting dummies or working slowly with him through reactions. But for the first time, I was going to fight Batman.

I had thought that I was doing pretty well and that I would be able to handle nearly everything. I was wrong. Once we were ready to go, Bruce launched himself at me. The speed he moved at was amazing for someone as large as him. He was able to knock me to the ground in less than ten seconds. I wasn't even close to being ready for him. And so that's where I found myself on this fine fall evening, on the floor of a dark, damp cave as my caretaker beat me into oblivion.

"Again." Bruce's voice rang out over the vast cave.

Instantly, I popped to my feet but this time, instead of waiting for him to turn around and begin again, I launched myself at him in a somewhat suicidal move. He turned around just in time to dodge my fist. As I landed, I turned and was able to block his counter for the first time. I dodged and fired off punches in rapid succession, amazing even myself at the speed at which I was moving. We had been going for nearly a minute when suddenly, one of my feet made it through. It landed right in his stomach, obviously catching him off guard. With this advantage, I threw a huge right uppercut right to his chin. I put just enough force into it to knock him back onto the mat. As he hit, I could tell that he was mad, not necessarily at me but at himself for letting me get to him.

"Good." he said as he popped back up, a small bruise forming on his square jaw. "Now, I think you're ready for me."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, I haven't been "holding back" per se, but I haven't been giving it my all either. I think we that you proved that you are ready to step up your training. I think after another month or two of training at that level, you'll be ready to hit the streets."

"Really?" I shot out, unable to contain my excitement.

"It won't be simple, Robin. The test that I will require of you to make sure you are ready will be grueling. You'll need every bit of the training I give you to succeed."

"I'll be ready." I replied confidently.

"Good. Now, that's enough for tonight. I want you to go and start up on the computer. Bring up all the files on ADA Harvey Dent. He seems to be the front runner for DA during next year's election and I want as much information as I can possibly get on him before he takes office. Also, Freeze is rumored to be back in Gotham. Cross reference any hideouts that he's used with police reports and see if any suspicious activity has occurred around there." Bruce said as he walked to the uniform bay to suit up.

"Will do, Bruce. Also, remember how Commissioner Gordon asked for a way to contact you?"

"Yes." Bruce's voice echoed.

"Well, what if he put a spotlight on top of GCPD Headquarters and anytime he needed to talk to you, he could activate it."

"How would that let me know he needed me?" Bruce replied.

"You could put a Bat on it."

"Ah. Makes sense and how would I see it from here?" he asked again.

"You wouldn't. We would put something in it that would let us know here anytime it was turned on."

Bruce walked out of the uniform bay with everything but the cowl on.

"That's a good idea, Robin. I'll look into it."

"Thanks."

* * *

**November 11**

**9:00 PM**

**Batman**

_"Here are the rules, Robin. I will release you into the city once we're done here. During my patrols, I will make every attempt possible to discover your location and capture you. You need to make sure that does not happen. Use every bit of your training to help you. If, by 5 AM, I have not caught you, you will begin making patrols as Robin. If not, you must wait two weeks and then you can try again."_

"Sounds good, Bats." Robin replied.

_"Knock it off, Robin. I don't want any of your crap tonight." I replied._

"OK."

_"Now, get out. You have one hour. Then, I'm coming for you." _I said as he got out of the new Batmobile. I waited as I saw him take off down the dark alley. I waited until I couldn't see him any longer and then drove off. As much as I didn't want to admit it, I was proud of him. I was sure that despite my best efforts tonight, he would be able to succeed in hiding from me for the evening. Something about him just screamed successful.

I was still lost in thought when a beeping noise erupted from the Batmobile's console. The Bat Signal had been lit. Instantly, I changed course and raced back towards GCPD. After five minutes later, I was scaling the side of Police HQ, ready to frighten Jim Gordon as usual. Once I reached the top, I noticed that Gordon was alone as was the custom for him. He turned to shut the light off when I spoke up.

_"Why don't you leave it on, Jim?" _I asked silently.

"Why not?" he replied, hardly jumping at all. Apparently, he was slowly getting used to my interruptions. "Care for a cup of coffee?"

My silence gave him his answer.

"Just thought I would ask. Listen, Freeze busted into the Chinese Embassy here about an hour ago. He's killed two people and is holding everyone else hostage until he gets money to support his research. As you know, his wife is still in a coma in Gotham General. We're keeping it pretty quiet, which is why I'm still here and there aren't any police cars over there."

_"Why the Chinese?"_

"I really have no clue." Gordon replied. "They hold a lot of the processing rights for the materials that he needs to continue his research. Do you think it would be possible to have his research moved to Arkham?"

_"No."_

"Why not?"

_"The kind of research into cancer that Fries was doing before his accident was incredibly experimental. While not at all unethical, it was highly unstable and unlikely to succeed. There's a reason he was doing his research so far out of Gotham."_

"Great."

_"Listen, keep your radio on in your office. I'll try to remain in contact with you as I get in with Freeze. Maybe he'll let me get some of the hostages out. I would suggest bringing in limited police force about two blocks away. All unmarked vehicles and completely out of sight of the embassy."_

"You know that going against that man could be suicidal, right?"

_"The thought has crossed my mind."_

And then, I was gone.

* * *

**November 11**

**11:00**

I had spent the better part of an hour tracing Dick. He had done the first thing that I had taught him and searched his uniform. Sure enough, the first thing I found was his entire uniform in a dumpster, all of the tracers that I had placed inside of his armor useless. I'm sure that he had grabbed the other set from Wayne Enterprises. He knew my passwords and had been given minor clearance to the R&D Department, where the armor was located.

Finally, when I hadn't heard word from Gordon that the situation at the Chinese Embassy had been defused, I headed that way. Rarely did I hesitate on a situation like this but with Mr. Freeze involved, the search for Robin had given me the opportunity to think about my plan. I knew that the Chinese Embassy would be incredibly well protected and so there was no way to get in without him knowing, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. He wouldn't want any of his thugs to kill me and so I would be able to bargain to get people out.

I parked the Batmobile three blocks away from the Embassy and scaled the nearest building. Then, a quick sprint across the rooftops got my to the tallest building that sat next to the Embassy. What I found was wonderful. The room that Mr. Freeze had amassed the hostages in had a glass roof. Without one good leap, I would be able to launch myself in the room and land inside that room.

As I decided my course of action, I pulled out my radio and tuned it to the frequency of Gordon's office radio.

_"Gordon?" _I croaked into the radio.

Moments later, Gordon replied.

"Here. What did you find?"

_"Freeze has the hostages located in the main ballroom which has a glass dome over it. I can launch myself into it. I just hope that none of his men have happy trigger fingers."_

"Same here. My men are in place."

_"Good. When I tell you to, go activate the Signal. That can act as a signal for your men to move into position just outside the embassy. I can use that as a distraction to get in."_

"OK. Thanks, Batman, Gordon out."

Just after he finished speaking, the line went dead. I went about prepping my jump off the building, calculating the distance I would need to get up to the proper speed. Overshooting or undershooting the target would surely lead to possibly fatal injuries that I couldn't afford to sustain and hope to stop Freeze. As I finished prepping, I wondered whether Dick would respond to the Signal. Part of me thought that he would, arrogantly thinking that he could witness any possible meetings between Gordon and I without getting caught. Another part of me thought that with as good as he was, he could possibly have been right.

Suddenly, I picked up my radio and yelled for Gordon.

_"Gordon!" _I barked into the radio.

"What?" Gordon replied instantly. "I was just getting ready to head to the Embassy. What's wrong?"

_"If someone comes to the roof of HQ dressed like me, don't shoot him. He'll look to be about sixteen years old."_

"Sixteen? Isn't that young to be a crimefighter?" Gordon replied in shock.

_"Not for him."_

* * *

**November 11**

**11:45 PM **

**Gotham Police HQ**

**Robin**

About twenty minutes ago, I had seen the Signal go up into the sky from about four blocks away. Instantly, I began sprinting towards it on the rooftops of Gotham. Once I got there, I saw that Batman hadn't arrived yet. I took this to my advantage and found a good hiding place on the far side of roof. I waited for another five minutes before Commissioner Gordon came onto the roof.

"Is someone there?" he spoke to no one.

I had already decided that I wouldn't show myself to him unless I absolutely needed to. I just wanted to know where Batman was going to be so I knew where not to be. It was a risk but one that I thought was definitely worth taking.

"He's not coming." Gordon suddenly shouted out.

Instantly, this perked my interest. I stepped out from behind my hiding place.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Victor Fries has got him at the Chinese Embassy. He traded himself to get all of the hostages that Freeze was holding. Before he was captured, he told me to tell you that he doesn't want you to go anywhere near there." Gordon replied, obviously shocked by my youth.

"So he wants me to stay away, huh?" I replied.

"That was what I got from him." Gordon replied. "How old are you?"

"Old enough." I replied smartly. "Is there any way to get the power shut off in the Embassy?"

"We can get the outside power turned off. That will turn off all outside lights and the security to the outer doors. But once you got inside, you would be going against a completely armed security system."

"Perfect."

"What do I call you, then?" Gordon asked curiously.

"Call me Robin, Commissioner." I replied respectfully.

"Why Robin?" I heard him say as I disappeared from his sight.

I was too far away to answer him by the time he finished the question. It was also hard to answer in the middle of free fall from a 26 story building.

* * *

**November 12**

**12:09 AM**

**Chinese Embasy**

**Robin**

He had obviously jumped from here. The angle at which the glass was broken on the dome indicated that this was likely the only position he could have made the jump from. Looking inside, I could see Batman, frozen to the wall. Regardless of what he said, he needed help and the only person even remotely qualified was me. I had only been out on patrols to follow Bruce three times before this and was never allowed to engage criminals and I knew that I was diving into some deep water by going against Freeze, but someone had to do it.

I pulled out my radio and called to Gordon.

"Alright, get the power company to pull the plug on the power for the Embassy." I ordered the head of Gotham Police. At this point, it struck me as odd that I, a fifteen year old orphan, was ordering the Police Commissioner of one of the largest cities in the world. I liked it.

Suddenly, I looked down and the lights on the outside of the ornate building went out. Instantly, people from the room that Bruce was being held in began moving. Moments later, five or six men ran outside.

"Gordon, get those cops into place now!" I called out over the radio again.

Within seconds, a dozen unmarked police cars pulled up to the outside of the Embassy. Instinctively, the armed men inside the gate took cover and aimed their weapons at the police. This was exactly what I wanted. Just enough of a distraction to get me in without a lot of noise or gunfire.

I launched myself of the building. However, instead of aiming for the dome that I couldn't have reached at my age, I aimed for a column on the side of the building. I used the razor gloves that Bruce had given me for climbing sheer objects, like the columns on the side of a foreign embassy. Once they were within reach, I reached out and grabbed the column. Sure enough, the super grip on the gloves allowed me to get a firm grip on the wide pole. I quickly climbed to the top of the column and on to the roof. I ran swiftly over to the ventilation tube that opened up a couple feet off the roof. As quickly as possible, I got inside and slid down the metal tube.

Once inside, I needed to find the room that Bruce was being held in. Logically, Freeze would have transformed the room where he was holding Batman into an ice cube. So, I pulled out a simple thermometer that I kept in my utility belt. I was about ten minutes into my search when the mercury in my thermometer took a dive. Suddenly, I heard a voice.

"We all know that you work alone, Batman. No one is coming for you. Why you would give yourself up for those people is beyond me." said the cool voice of Victor Fries. I had heard his voice numerous times in training footage Bruce had given me over the last six months.

_"The same reason you held a Chinese Embassy hostage. To save a life." _Batman replied surprisingly.

"Ahh, you believe that you were doing good, Batman? If you were doing good, then you would be helping me instead of trying to send me back to the madhouse." Freeze replied.

This time, Batman didn't respond and when he didn't, I could hear the sound of something hard hitting Batman. Where he hit him, I couldn't determine, but I knew that it couldn't have been the first one because he let out a small grunt when Freeze hit him, something he definitely wouldn't have done if it had been the first time. He wouldn't have given him the satisfaction.

After hearing nothing more for the next couple of seconds, I took off down the vent, looking for a way into the room. After several more minutes of searching, I thought that there was no way into the room when graciously I turned to see a vent covered in ice. Obviously, this one led to Batman. I crawled over to it and checked it. The ice wasn't very thick and it wouldn't prevent me from taking it off the wall. Also, Freeze was facing away from the vent so if I was quiet enough I should be able to get through.

Maybe.

* * *

**12:34 PM**

**Batman**

I had to admit: things weren't looking good. However, I knew that someone was on the way. About fifteen minutes ago, I heard someone moving in one of the vents hanging high in the room. I was sure it was Robin. Now was the time when I got to see whether or not his training was going to pay off. I was confident in Robin's ability but this might have been too big for him. Victor Fries had been one of the world's leading genetic researchers before the accident. What I hadn't told Gordon about Fries' research is that if there was anyone on the planet that could have been successful in coming up with a cure for cancer, it was this man.

This man who had been transformed into an icy meglomaniac when an explosion in his lab genetically altered his state to one of constant sub freezing temperatures. He had created a suit created for him by the government to keep him at a temperature of around 25 degrees Farenheit when he was in Arkham. He had taken the suit with him during his escape from Arkham and as a result was able to survive outside of his frozen cell there. However, it was new technology that had me worried. He had somehow constructed ,or had someone else build for him, a gun that created subzero temperatures. It shot out a spray of water that froze once it made contact with something.

In my case, it had been me.

I couldn't say that suspended by ice from a wall in the Chinese Embassy would have been how I wanted this to play out, but it was the situation I had gotten myself into. However, I was comforted by one piece of information. Freeze wouldn't kill me while he needed research supplies. If he killed me, his bargaining chip would be gone and the police would move in on him. Wonderfully enough, he was a scientist, not a miltary strategist or expert. He wasn't particularly fast or strong and wouldn't have been too difficult for the police to take down, especially if they were able to rid him of his freeze gun.

Suddenly, I looked over Freeze's shoulder and saw motion on the other side of the ice covering the vent that was there. Robin must have been there. I was so concerned with him that I didn't see Freeze get up again.

"What are you looking at, Batman?" he asked as he got up in my face again.

I didn't respond. He took that as another sign of disrespect and hit me in the face again. He seemed to be getting tired, his punches weren't packing as much power as they were twenty minutes ago. Suddenly, Robin acted. The vent that he had been hiding behind came flying off the wall. Moments later, I saw a Batarang come flying out of the vent and towards the giant chandalier that hung from the ceiling. With one quick motion, it cut through the small metal wire that had kept it up. It came crashing down onto the middle of the great room, turning out the lights, just as Robin planned.

"WHO'S THERE?" Freeze screamed out into the night. He turned to me and grabbed me by the head, pulling me closer to him. "I swear to God Batman, if someone gets me, I will kill y-ahhh!"

Just as he had finished speaking, Robin had snuck up behind him and kicked him in the back of the knee. If a normal person kicked you there, you would simply fall down. However, someone trained in body weak points and physiology could destroy every bone and ligament in the knee from behind. From the looks of the way Freeze fell and the fact that he still had yet to get up, I would say Robin had done just that.

With Freeze rolling around on the ground, Robin flipped him onto his back. Then, he reared back his left hand and punched him square in the face, knocking Mr. Freeze unconcious.

"Shut up." he said to the knocked out man on the floor. Then, he turned to look at me. "Need any help?"

_"Just use that metal rope laser I gave you around my hands. I'll be able to get out from there."_

Quickly, Robin came over and pulled out the laser. After melting the ice around each of my hands, I was able to flex my muscles again and break my way out of the ice. However, my body ,having been suspended from the wall for that long and encased in ice, was weak. I looked at Robin to give him instructions.

_"I want you to call Gordon and his men in here. Escort Freeze back to Arkham. Tell the doctors there to keep his sedated for three or four hours before allowing him to wake up. Then, finish patrols and get back home by 4." _I ordered him.

"Why? What are you doing?"

_"Mobile, activate remote." _I ordered into the radio that connected to the Batmobile before answering him. _"I'm going out on patrols. I'll be back home around four. Call the cycle into the city at around 3:30 and you'll be able to be back at base by four."_

"Wait, so I'm going out on my own?"

_"For tonight. It won't be normal for awhile but I think you can handle yourself tonight."_ I replied.

* * *

**4:05 AM**

**Batcave**

**Bruce Wayne**

Robin finally pulled into the Cave, five minutes late.

"You're late." I said as he cut the engine to his cycle.

"Sorry. A pair of muggers took me a little longer to put down than I thought they would." Robin replied as he walked into the uniform bay to change.

"Don't make it a habit." I replied sharply. "If I say be back here at 4, I mean it. I know you did well tonight and you helped me out a jam, but that doesn't make you in charge."

"OK, Bruce." Dick's voice rang out from the uniform bay.

"Hurry up and get changed. I want to talk to you before you go to bed."

Moments later, Dick came out, dressed in a black training tank top and matching sweatpants. He stopped a few feet away from me.

"First, you did well tonight. Your plan to stop Freeze was well thought out and executed well. For that, you should be proud of yourself."

"Thanks, Bruce." Dick replied with a grin.

"However, if you remember, the goal for tonight was to make it so I did not find you tonight. I would argue that by coming to me, you did the exact opposite of what you were ordered to do."

"Bu-"

_"Don't interupt me. _Now, until I give you the rights to patrol on your own, you are under my command. That means that you take my orders and you do what I say. If I order you to stay away, you do so. _Is that understood?"_

"Yes, Bruce."

"Good. Now, go to bed. I want you rested for tomorrow night." I replied.

"What's tomorrow night?"

"Another night of patrols and hell in Gotham."

"Wait, so am I in then?"

I sat down in front of the computer to begin upgrading the computer. Then, I sighed and spoke again.

"Yes, Robin. Now, go to bed."

"Thank you, Bruce."

Finally, he turned and ascended the stairs to go to bed. I waited until he was far enough away before I replied softly.

"No...thank you."


	9. Part 4: The Last Son

**August 15, 1994**

**4:45 AM**

**Wayne Manor**

**Bruce Wayne**

"I told you not to do that." I said, knowing that I wasn't going to get through.

Dick, who had just showered in the cave's newly installed shower room, came out with a towel around his waist and a smile on his face.

"Oh come on, Bruce, you know it was funny."

"You went up against six armed men alone. That's not funny."

Dick laughed before he replied.

"No, getting shot isn't funny. Kicking the crap out of six of the dumbest goons in history is funny."

He was getting bolder everyday. It needed to stop.

"Dick, while you may have been given permission to perform part of your patrols on your own, you are still on my orders. My orders are that you never engage that many men solo. If I hear about you doing it again, I'll pull you." I scolded.

"Pull me? Bruce, you know that I do a lot of work for you. I don't think you can afford to pull me." Dick said as he turned back into the uniform bay.

"I did this without you once. I can do it again. Don't think that I can't." I reminded him sharply.

"I know you can, Bruce. It's just that you know that I help a lot more than you care to admit."

"Only because you are available. I can do it without you just as easily. Trust me, sometimes I would prefer it."

Dick walked out of the uniform bay in his traditional attire, a red t-shirt and black sweatpants.

"Bruce, I can handle it."

I sat down in front of the computer before I spoke again.

"I know you can handle it. That's not my worry. I'm worried about the fact that you know that you can handle it and that you will get in over your head. That's my worry."

Dick approached me and stood next to me as I began updating files on some of my persistent adversaries.

"Bruce, you trained me well. I check everything twice before I go into a situation. You can trust me."

This time, I chose not to answer him. A couple minutes later, after he finished putting his gear away, he spoke up again.

"Goodnight, Bruce."

"Night." I replied shortly. He was about to the top of the stairs when suddenly a news brief came across my screen.

"Dick. Come back!" I called to him. Instantly, he turned and sprinted back down the stairs. When he reached me, his face was worried.

"What's wrong, Bruce?"

"Watch this."

We watched as Channel 1 out of Metropolis highlighted a bizarre occurrence that happened there earlier that day. As the video played, a car stalled on the tracks of a Amtrak train as a train approached. For whatever reason, the driver was too stubborn to simply cut his losses and get out of the vehicle. As the train got closer, it looked more and more likely that the truck was going to get smashed by it. However, at the last second, a blue and red blur came screaming from the edge of the screen and pushed the car out of the way. What followed it was an interview with the truck driver.

"Yeah, it was stalled on me. I had put it in park so I didn't roll anywhere that I didn't want to where I heard the train coming." he said as he recounted his story. "When I heard the train, I just panicked. I tried so hard to get the car started again. But, it just wasn't working. Then, just when I thought the train was gonna hit me, something came and just pushed the car out of the way. I wasn't ever able to see what it really was because it moved so fast but whatever it was was stronger than a bull. It tore the brakes on my truck pushing it back and now I have to get new ones."

We watched for about the next twenty minutes before I finally turned to Dick to get his opinion on the news story.

"Holy cow." Dick said in reply.

"Yeah. Computer, put the news video in the editing program."

"3...2...1...done." the computer replied.

I turned back around to see my editing software up and ready. Within moments, we were able to slow down the tape to the point where we were able to catch a glimpse of what the blur might be. When we played it back in super slow motion, so slow that it took us nearly one minute to watch one second, we were astounded. What appeared to be a normal human man dressed in a blue spandex suit with a red cape flew into the screen and slammed into the truck, pushing it back nearly a whole car length.

"What is that?" Dick asked out loud.

"I don't know. But, I do know that Bruce Wayne is going to need to make a visit to Metropolis for the next few days."

"How will you get back here for patrols? That's almost three hours away and I think people who notice if you got a Bat-jet that flew back from Metropolis three times this week."

"I won't be back. I'll communicate with you from there but for the next two or three days, you are on your own."

"Really?"

"Yes, but you are going to be running shorter patrols and only highlighting certain places. I'll let you catch up on some of that sleep that you missed when you didn't sleep before school three nights ago after the Penguin thing."

"No kidding. That damn midget had to keep me up all night, squawking on about how he hated Batman and Robin and how he couldn't wait to see us dead."

"Yeah. Anyway, go to bed, Dick. I'll see you in the morning before I leave for Metropolis."

Dick turned to the stairs and began to ascend them. Just as he reached the top, he stopped and turned back towards me.

"Goodnight, Bruce."

"Night."

* * *

**August 15, 1994**

**2:13 PM**

**Luthor International Airport**

As terrible as Gotham could be, I still hated Metropolis. Known as the City of Tomorrow, its crime rate was the lowest in the city and it was using technology in fighting crime that was years ahead of what most cities had. I had decided that in order to properly investigate whatever that blur was, I would need a cover as Bruce Wayne. So after getting a couple hours of sleep, I called Lex Luthor and asked for a meeting to discuss a new energy preservation system that the Advanced Technologies Division of Wayne Enterprises had created. About once a year, I ended up meeting with Luthor, despite my general distaste for the man. Something screamed dirty about him and although I had no proof of it, I was convinced that he was active in the criminal fraternity.

I arrived in Metropolis at about two o'clock and in the few minutes it took to get to the main gate, I looked over my notes, both as Bruce Wayne and Batman. I wanted to make my presence known as both persons. I wanted Metropolis to know that Wayne Enterprises was going to be a permanent part of their city and that Batman would be there as well. After departing from the plane, I walked down the gate to find a man with a small sign that read my name, obviously Luthor's lackey. As I approached him, I turned on the playboy personality.

"Part of the mile high club?" I asked him, barely looking over the sunglasses I was wearing even though I was an overcast day and not overly lit in the airport.

"No, sir." he replied softly, obviously uncomfortable.

"Well, I am a twelve time member. I'm pretty sure that's got to be some kind of record." I said boastfully.

"I'm sure, sir. Now, if you'll come this way, we'll get your bags and head out to the car." he replied softly.

"What kind of car?"

"What, Mr. Wayne?"

"I asked what kind of car and stick the sir stuff, I don't like you using my name." I said as arrogantly as I could.

"Oh, it's a Bentley, sir." he replied, his face red with embarrassment.

"Good. I didn't want some crappy rental car. God, if I was seen in a Taurus..."

"Right, sir." he said as he led me to the car.

Within five minutes, he had gotten my bags and were in the car. A thirty minute drive into the city and we were at LexCorp's Headquarters. As I expected, there were reporters everywhere. I planned on trying to get into the building but I knew that wasn't going to be the case. I put my sunglasses back on and exited the vehicle. Instantly, a wave of reporters hit me. They all asked different questions and I had nearly twenty cameras pointed at my face. I waited until I reached the top of the stairs leading to the skyscraper and then turned around.

"Alright. I'll answer a few questions before going inside to talk with Lex. What's your question, miss?" I said, indicating a young female reporter in the front.

"How is your relationship with Andrea Beaumont going? Her father has been sick for some time and we are seeing the two of you in public together less and less. Are you thinking of ending the relationship?

Paparazzi. I hated them.

"Well, miss, Andrea and I are still very happy. We both have to deal with the demands of our jobs. She's taken over her father's spot on the board and his foundation and I am the chairman of the board of the most profitable company in the world. However, we are both still very happy. Thanks for being so concerned." I ended with a fake grin in her direction.

"Oh, one more, what's your question, darling?" I asked a beautiful woman towards the back of the group.

"Are the rumors of Wayne Tech's expansion true?"

"Well, we are growing." I replied shortly, finishing with a chuckle.

"I mean, are we going to be seeing a Wayne Enterprises branch in Metropolis?"

"Well, I guess that since you have been good little boys and girls, I can let you all in on the secret. With Wayne Enterprises surpassing LexCorp as the world's most sold stock and leading all companies in government contracts around the world, we have decided that it will be a great time to expand. So, expect to see new operating locations of Wayne Enterprises in Metropolis, Bludhaven, Star City, Central City, Washington D.C., New York City, and San Francisco."

"How will this affect LexCorp's strangle hold on everything in Metropolis?"

"Well, that's not my job to figure out. My job is to make my company as strong as possible and our expansion should do that. We will be able to control every part of our manufacturing processes and research will stay within the company. Plus, we will employ another one million people across the country. Now, if you don't mind, I have a meeting to get to." I said, ending the interviews and almost assuredly angering some poor little journalist.

Such is the life of Bruce Wayne.

I went into the lobby and was directed to an elevator that I was told would go directly to Luthor's office. After watching as the elevator rose 99 floors to the top of the Luthor Center and saw that the only room on the floor accessible to this elevator was Lex's office. While I preferred a sparsely decorated, more functional office, Luthor went to the other extreme. The room was huge and full of everything you could possibly imagine. Models of experimental aircraft and buildings, pictures of the President and the Pope stationed next to Luthor, and incredible looking furniture. This room wasn't as much about work as it was presentation. Luthor was trying to make a show of things by holding his meetings in this room. He was trying to impress you. Unfortunate for him, I was not easily impressed.

The king himself sat behind his desk, legs crossed as he watched the live ticker that screamed across his desk. On it, it showed stock information on the most important of his business ventures and rivals. No doubt, my company's numbers would crawl across that desk every so often. I loved it.

"Lex, how are you, my good man?" I said as I approached the desk and took a seat across from him. "Showing off a bit, aren't you?"

Luthor's eyes very briefly shot across the desk to mine, their dark color attempting to bore a hole through my skull.

"Give it a rest, Bruce. We all know that stupid playboy bullshit you play in the public isn't going to work in here. You requested that I not bring my usual team of lawyers to this meeting, which means on of two things."

"And those are?" I replied, dropping my carefully constructed facade.

"Either, you have come to simply ask me for a favor, which is unlikely, yet plausible because of how incredibly stupid you actually are. Or, you have some stupid banquet or something that you want me to attend and you thought that coming to me in person would give you a better chance at getting me to go. Either way, the answer is no and get out of my office."

I chucked silently before I replied sharply.

"Or, I have a business deal that I thought you might want a look at. I would consider letting you split the profits with Wayne Enterprises." I replied, knowing that anything that took money from my company would be something he wholeheartedly supported.

He finally looked away from the crawling text that outlined his desk and up towards me. For a moment, we glared at each other with a razor-sharp focus. Finally, he broke into a smile and leaned forward.

"What's the tech?" he asked in a hushed voice.

"A new energy manipulator." I replied, matching his tone.

"What?" he replied in shock. "I thought this was a new bio weapon or a specialized water tank for the military. Energy manipulation? What is that going to do for us, Wayne?" Luthor replied as he laughed.

"This machine will allow us to exponentially expand the amount of energy you produce. Instead of sending power through all the wires in your building, you shift it all into this machine. This machine, which acts a miniturized atom smasher for electricity, accelerates the electricity to unimagineable speeds. Once the process begins, it creates new kenetic energy. In less than ten seconds, all of the energy that was given to the machine at the beginning of the process has been multiplied by nearly one thousand times. Theoretically, you could run this machine two months out of the year and run your whole building on stored power for the rest of the year. Imagine how much we could drop prices on household items by almost eliminating electrical costs!"

After my impassioned speech, Luthor's reaction was surprising. He actually seemed moderately interested. While I had been considering cutting him in this deal if he wanted to be, I hadn't expected him to even consider it. He owned Metropolis Power, the main electric company in Metropolis. He didn't need this, which immediately made me wary when he appeared to be considering my offer.

"What's the price?" he asked simply.

"We would give you the unit for 23 million. From there, any profits made on the manufacturing of new units would be split between Wayne Enterprises and LexCorp. We would split it 60-40." I replied, knowing how much that would piss him off.

"Wayne, you know my rules. If I get cut into a deal, I get majority rights." he said, attempting to scare me by staring me down.

"Lex, you can do that when you work with S.T.A.R or even the Defense Department, but this is Wayne Enterprises you're talking about. I've done the math and I could go in today and buy nearly 25% of your company without having to arrange for any help. With the help of a brokering firm, I could purchase almost all of your holdings west of the Mississippi and within the next six months, I could own you, Luthor. Do you understand that?" I asked him, standing up and beginning to leave.

"You wouldn't dare." Lex said strongly from the other side of the desk.

"This offer expires when the elevator door closes, Lex. You can accept 30% of the profits from Wayne Tech's energy manipulation project under one circumstance: you sign a contract stating that in the decade, you will make no attempts to pursue _any_ financial interests in Gotham City. If you decline, you get none of the profits and I'll buy you out within a year. If you accept, I will sign the same contract saying that I will make no attempts to buy stock in LexCorp." I informed him. "What do you say, Luthor?"

Instantly, I pulled out my briefcase and opened it. Laying on top was the contract I had written up. I put it on the desk and turned to the elevator. After taking a few steps, I turned back around.

"You can send me the signed contract in the mail. If I don't get it in two days, I start buying. I hope you can afford that."

I had just gotten to the elevator when Luthor spoke up.

"How do you afford to support them?"

I turned around to see Luthor standing behind his desk, a huge smile on his face.

"What do you mean?" I asked in confusion.

"Batman and Robin." he replied simply.

"I'm sorry. I have no idea what the hell you are talking about." I replied.

"Oh don't give me that bullshit again, Wayne. They drive state-of-the-art vehicles with weaponry that only an advanced weapons division like yours could have created. They are outfitted with some of the best body armor known to man. Also, I find it ironic that Batman worked alone for so long and then a couple years after Bruce Wayne takes a young circus orphan into his home, a sidekick joined him. In addition, Batman and Bruce Wayne are the same height and Dick Grayson and Robin are the same height. It all seems to make sense, doesn't it? A little boy's parents are killed in front of me and then before he can get his revenge, it's taken from him. So, he decides to fake his death and train to fight those that would do the same thing. That's it, isn't it, Wayne? That's all Batman is? A scared little boy in the corner, crying for mommy."

That was what did. It just two steps I was back across the room. I grabbed the corner of Luthor's desk and flipped it over. Then, I reached forward and grabbed him by the neck and lifted him off the ground. As his face began to turn purple, I leaned in to his ear and spoke in the most threatening voice I knew how.

_"You never talk about my family like that ever again." _I growled. _"If I ever hear you mutter a word about my parents again, I will make you wish you had never been born. I suggest you cease all of your illegal activites in Gotham. Otherwise, I'll be forced to turn them into the police and I'm positive that your already spotty reputation couldn't handle something like that."_

With that, I dropped him and turned to leave. As he gagged and caught his breath, I could hear him swearing at me under his breath. After a quick ride down the luxurious elevator, I hit the lobby at the fastest walk I could. As I reached the door, I saw a man, walking towards me. He was obviously a reporter. I turned and looked at him.

"What do you want?" I asked sharply.

"Clark Kent, Daily Planet. What was your meeting with Lex Luthor about?"

I was much too pissed off to answer him straight.

"It was actually a tea party. We didn't talk about anything."

I turned to walk away when he asked another question.

"Please, sir, I'm just trying to do my job."

I turned back around and looked at him before I answered.

"You want to do your job? Figure out what that "Super Man" was that moved that truck out of the way of the train yesterday."

"What do you mean?"

"Watch the video as slow as you can. It's a man."

"A flying man? Doesn't that sound kind of ridiculous?" Kent replied.

"It wouldn't be the most ridiculous thing I've heard today."

* * *

**The Hilton-Metropolis**

**10:11 PM**

After a long day of fighting with Lex Luthor and being hounded by paparazzi, I was ready to get to work. But first, I needed to call Dick and give him his briefing for patrols in Gotham tonight. The phone picked up on the first ring.

"Are you suited up?"

"As always, Master Wayne." Alfred's voice replied.

"Aflred, where's Dick?" I replied in alarm.

"Master Dick left for Gotham fifty minutes ago. Commissioner Gordon activated the Bat Signal." he replied calmly. "He told me to tell you that he is sorry for missing your call but deemed it quite prudent to go into Gotham."

"He's right. What was the problem?"

"Edward Nygma escaped from Arkham." Alfred replied simply.

"Again? I swear if Arkham doesn't improve his security soon, we're going to have a real crisis on our hands. That's Freeze, The Riddler, Zsasz, and The Riddler again!"

"Well, sir, you do have the finances to help him." Aflred replied dryly.

"Maybe. Anyway, I trust Dick to handle that situation. I'll radio him from the Batmobile when I get a chance."

"What a splendid idea, sir. Have a wonderful evening." he replied.

"Goodnight, Alfred." I said before hanging up the phone.

Jeremiah Arkham had taken over for his uncle as Chief Administrator and Owner of Arkham Asylum when his uncle had lost his mind. Jeremiah's strict behavior with his patients had not crossed over the security that his facility was surely lacking. With men like The Joker, Mr. Freeze, and Victor Zsasz, a crazed serial killer, locked up in his prison, he needed to improve his security. I made a mental note to coerce him into doing so when I got back to Gotham.

Ready to head out for the evening, I took the elevator down to the first floor. I had hid the Batmobile and a mobile uniforming station in an abandoned building about eight blocks from where I was staying. There, I had everything that I would need for my two or three nights of Metropolis patrols.

After the twenty minute walk to the building and another hour of dressing and prepping, I was ready to go. After scaling the empty building, I was ready to work. I turned on my recently upgraded radio and dialed it to Robin's frequency. Utilizing new technology, I was able to use Wayne Tech-sponsored government satellites to talk to someone as far as 250 miles away. I was in the process of utilizing computers and the internet to increase its effectiveness but that was still a long way away.

_"Robin, check in." _I ordered on the radio.

About two minutes later, Robin's voice rang over the radio, out of breath.

"Checking in, Batman. The Riddler is back in Arkham. Luckily, Gordon was able to notify me in time that he wasn't able to set up some of his elaborate traps." Robin's voice said over the radio.

_"Good job, Robin. Now, check out the West End and the shipping yards tonight. There are rumors of a cat burglar in the West End that's stealing anything of value. Also, The Red Hoods are attempting to make a comeback at the docks. Remember, if there are more than five armed men, back off for tonight."_

"Will do, Bats. Robin, out." he responded before cutting the line.

I knew that I was being overprotective of him. But he was right. I needed him to assist me with Gotham and he couldn't do that if he was dead. I knew that within the next six months to a year, his body would fill out enough that he would be able to consistently handle everything. But, for right now, he was still pretty trim and that wasn't going to help him stop some of the huge goons that Gotham crime lords often employed.

I had gotten so lost in my thoughts that I hadn't noticed that someone had come up behind me. I turned, batarangs ready, surprised to see the same man that had pushed the truck out of the way was standing behind me. I noticed that he had a large red and yellow S on the front of his suit.

_"Who are you?"_ I asked him.

"Well, Batman, I call myself Superman." he replied in a silky voice.

_"That's great. How did you move that truck?" _I responded shortly.

"It's one of my many gifts. Super strength, flight, x-ray vision, heat vision, and many other things."

_"That's not possible." _

"For a human." he replied simply.

_"What does that mean?" _

"My real name is Kal-El and I am from the planet Krypton. Years ago, the planet was destroyed but my parents were able to send me here. They sent me here to help protect the people of this planet."

He must have thought I was crazy.

_"No such place exists."_

"You are right. But about thirty years ago, it did. However, its sun exploded and destroyed it." he replied, obviously noticing my suspicions of him.

_"Prove it."_ I shot back.

Instantly, he shot straight up in the air until he was thirty feet over my head. Then, he shot over to the side of the building where he flew down the ground and picked up a pick-up truck that was parked on the side of the road. Once he had it firmly in his grasp, he flew back up to the roof and set the truck down on top of the building.

_"OK. So, you are an alien from another planet. What does that mean for us?"_

He looked at me as if examining me before he responded.

"Do you trust me?"

_"Why do you care? You could just vaporize me if I didn't."_

"I could, but I know someone who fights for good when I see it. I may dislike your brutality and your methods but I see what you're doing in Gotham and I know the kind of good that you are doing."

_"Thanks. But why does that have to deal with trust?" _I fired back at him.

"I'm not the only superpowered person on this planet. For a number of reasons, there are other people that have the ability to fight those who want to oppress others. I have met with a number of them and they have agreed to join me."

_"Join you in what?"_

"I want to form a team. As you can guess, if there was once one alien civilization among the stars, there are bound to be others, and not all of them might be as benevolent as Kryptons were. Also, if any of our enemies ever teamed up, it would be impossible for one of us to stop them. That's where we would come in. When one of us could not stop something, all of us could."

_"Who are the others?" _I asked, surprisingly curious despite my usual propensity for working alone.

"There is the Amazonian, Wonder Woman. She was born of a race of super-powered women who live in secret off of the coast of South America. Then, the speedster known as The Flash. A freak accident granted him the ability to run faster than the speed of sound, among other gifts. Even he is not sure how fast he can actually run. Finally, the protector of our galactic region, The Green Lantern."

_"Galactic region?" _

"Across the galaxy, there are a collection of planets that house known life. In the center of the known universe lies Oa, the first planet. There, a race known only as the Guardians have made it their duty to protect all living beings. They give residents of each sector one guardian who uses the power of hope and strength to fight those who may seek to destroy those within their sector. That is the duty of a Green Lantern."

_"What does this have to do with me?" _I replied shortly.

"You have no natural abilities, other than maybe exceptional intelligence. Yet, you stand up against the same criminals as myself and others that have far superior natural abilities. That can mean only one thing."

_"What?"_

"That more than any person on this planet, you believe in fighting for what you believe in. We both know that very few people would put themselves in harm's way for someone they have never met, even if they did have superpowers. So, for someone like you to willingly throw yourself in between criminals and their victims says that you believe more than any of us in what you do."

_"Thanks for flattering me. Now, what do you want?"_

"All I want is for you to join us. We'll have to wait a couple weeks to get things off the ground. We need to make sure that each of us are secured as a protector of the peace before we join forces."

_"I'll consider it."_

I had turned to leave when something struck me. Something that I had said earlier. I turned back to Superman.

_"Why Superman?"_

"An ally in disguise gave me the name." Superman said, not hiding the intent of his words.

_"Great." _I shot back before launching myself off the side of the building.

* * *

**August 17**

**5:15 PM**

**Andrea Beaumont's Penthouse**

I had stayed in Metropolis for a couple extra days. I had had no other meetings with Superman and nothing exceptionally eventful during my short time in Metropolis. In fact, after my meeting with Superman, it had taken me nearly four hours to find something else to do. Lucky for me, a mugger had decided to try and take a woman's purse just underneath where I was perched. I had quickly made it known to him that this was not a particularly good idea.

I had landed in Gotham about an hour ago and had Alfred pick me up there. However, I had no intention of going home so quickly. I hadn't seen Andrea in nearly two weeks and while my life as Batman kept me busy, I couldn't say that I didn't miss her. We had been dating for nearly four years and while for any other couple, that would mean that marriage was on the horizon, the same didn't hold true for us. We had agreed that until I was able to take a couple nights a week off as Batman, marriage wasn't something that was worth the hassle. She understood my life and I did my best to keep myself available to her.

Alfred pulled up to the apartment building that Andrea had built. I had named her a board member at Wayne Enterprises about two months after her father's resignation. He had been convicted of money laundering and conspiracy and was going to be in prison for another three or four years. Once she had been named a board member, she had nearly taken control of the board. Her vote was often the most important in any close issue and the board members seemed to try and push her one way or the other more often than not. However, she was always in control of the situation and only ever voted one way if it benefited her.

I walked up to the front desk and hailed the man running the desk.

"Mr. Wayne, what can I do for you?" he asked as he approached me.

"Is Andrea in?" I asked.

"Yes, did you want me to let her know you were coming?" the desk man asked in reply.

"No, I think I'll surprise her."

After leaving the front desk, I strolled over to the large elevator. Being who I was, the second I was inside, anyone else that had been considering going up in the elevator suddenly decided to wait outside. Being Bruce Wayne definitely had its advantages. After about a minute, the elevator stopped at the 50th floor, the top floor reached by the elevator. Andrea's penthouse was actually 3 floors but the elevator stopped on the first one.

I walked out of the elevator and as I expected, Andrea was in her office, hard at work. I don't know whether it was my influence or not but she had turned into quite a workaholic. I knocked on the door and sure enough, she jumped, not knowing that I was there. She sharply turned around and gave me a sharp glare before softening and smiling at me.

"Good evening, Bruce." she said, still nervously smiling about her fright.

"Good evening. What are you working on?" I asked curiously.

"That new proposal that Lucius brought to the last board meeting." she replied as she turned back around to her work.

"Ah, what's your thought on it?"

"I'm not sure. My fear is that this new virus that would be created to cure cancer could be used against us in the future. It could turn into the next viable bio-weapon."

"Good point." I replied as I sat down on the chair opposite her desk.

About five minutes later, she finished typing and researching and turned around.

"So, what's up, Bats?" she asked sarcastically.

"Not funny." I replied quickly.

"Sorry." she replied with a smile. "I've missed you. What have you been up to?"

"Well, I had to go meet with Luthor in Metropolis and then investigate some things."

"Like Superman?" she asked as she picked up a copy of The Daily Planet, Metropolis' leading newspaper.

"What is that?" I replied in shock.

"Lois Lane got an interview with him. Apparently, he was behind that truck that got moved out of the way of that train earlier this week. But I'm sure you already knew that." Andy said with a wink.

"I did but I didn't know that he had gone public." I replied, taking the paper from her and skimming the article.

"Apparently so. People seem to be going nuts over him. Sorry, babe, but I don't think that's going to change Gotham's opinion of you." Andy stated.

"I have Gordon's support. That's all I need." I replied sharply.

"I know, Bruce." she replied. After a brief pause, she spoke again. "Dick stopped by here the other night."

"What? Why?"

"Apparently Gotham was pretty boring while you were gone and he was done with patrols. He said he didn't want to go back to the Manor and so he asked if he could stay here."

"I wonder why..."

"Well, the next morning, he got up and made us breakfast and then he left. When I asked him where he was going, he said he was going to go hang out with Barbara for awhile before he had to go back and train."

I sighed deeply. I hadn't considered that Commissioner Gordon's daughter would go to the Hall Institute with Dick. They had become best friends and I constantly worried that the time Dick spent over there would lead Jim to notice the similarities between Dick and Robin. Jim wasn't stupid and it had to be something that he would notice eventually.

Andy had noticed me zoning out and lightly smacked me in the fact to bring me back to her.

"Earth to Bruce. Earth to Bruce." Andy said through her huge grin.

"Thanks. I need to stop doing that." I said, returning her smile.

"No kidding. Learn to think and talk at the same time, ok?"

"I'll do my best." I said as I stood up.

"Are you leaving?" she asked with disappointment.

"Yeah. I need to go and talk to Dick before patrols tonight."

"OK. Be safe, Batman."

"I will do my best."


	10. Part 4: Plant Life

**January 21, 1995**

**12:01 PM**

**Gotham City Hall**

Finally, someone outside of Gordon was going to help me. That was all I could think as I watched Harvey Dent take his oath as he was being sworn in as District Attorney of Gotham City. While I wasn't in my typical attire, I wasn't really watching this as Bruce Wayne. Only a very small part of Bruce Wayne actually cared who the District Attorney was. However, for Batman, this was everything. For the passed six months, I had been doing research on each of the candidates and Dent definitely seemed to be the only one that would really work with me. He should have won the election two years ago but he was forced out of the running by a lack of funds.

Needless to say, The Wayne Foundation made sure that was not a problem this time around.

"I make a promise to you all that the days of The Joker and his like running this city are over. From now on, criminals won't get away with paying public officials. Anyone that makes a deal with a criminal is a criminal as well and will be prosecuted to the fullest extend of the law. No one, and I mean no one, gets a free pass!"

Dent's speech was impassioned and caused an uproar within the crowd. Now, it was just up to me to determine whether or not he meant it.

* * *

Later that evening, Dent made the mistake of leaving his office for a couple minutes. That gave Robin and me the time we needed to slip inside and conceal ourselves. A few minutes later, Dent came back in and took his seat behind his desk. Instantly, I stepped forward and gave a small cough.

The effect was as desired. Dent nearly fell out of his chair. Within moments, he had done his best to try and remain calm while placing everything that he had knocked over when he fell back in its rightful place.

"Gordon told me to be expecting you. I thought I was." he replied softly. His voice was much less forced when he wasn't speaking to a large crowd. As hard as it may be to believe, it sounded more sincere this way.

_"We need to talk."_

"About what?" Dent asked.

_"You spoke today about a city on trial. Did you mean it?"_

"Of course I meant it. All I want to see is Gotham returned to the glory that it enjoyed when the Waynes were alive. Since their death, this place has gone to hell. All I want is to bring that back."

_"Good. Now, I trust that you have no problem with my arrangement with Gordon."_

"None."

_"Fine. I'll give you any information that I give to Gordon."_

"How often can I expect to hear from you?"

It was Robin that answered.

"As often as you need to."

* * *

**January 24, 1995**

**4:59 AM**

**The Batcave**

"Dick, if I have to tell you once, I'll tell you a million times, my orders are orders. You don't get to pick and choose which ones you listen to and which ones you ignore." I growled at Dick.

He had once again gone against my implicit orders. This time, we had gone against a relatively new foe: Poison Ivy. Up until a few years ago, she had been Dr. Pamela Isley, a botanist working in Coast City. However, Dr. Jason Woodrue, her boss on the project she was working on, experimented and tortured her for months in their laboratory in Indonesia. When he was done with her, Pamela Isley was gone. The toxins that he had run through her system had had an horrifying effect. Her blood had somehow absorbed the qualities of the poisons and she was now incredibly toxic to other humans. Even her saliva could kill a fully grown man in less than two minutes if he ingested it.

Woodrue had made the mistake of letting Ivy's restraints go during one of his experiments. During her imprisonment, her mind had been addled. Whether this was a result of torture, captivity or the toxins, we will never be sure. However, we do know that she killed Woodrue and escaped with a hatred for men and anyone that dared hurt her "kin," otherwise known to people as plants.

She had really started to become known to the public within the last year. Last March, she tried to take over The First National Bank in Gotham by using another ability granted to her by Woodrue. She could secrete a pheromone that is irresistible to the average person. Using this ability, she convinced everyone within the bank to become a human shield for her as she attempted to steal money so she could fund her future criminal activities. Thankfully, Robin and I aren't what you would consider "average" and we were able to resist her allure and take her down.

However, due to the miscommunication between Jeremiah Arkham and one of his psychiatrists, she was released to an out-patient treatment program at Gotham General Hospital. Needless to say, she never showed up for those. She had been out for almost three months when decided that last night, she wanted to own Robinson Park. While we managed to capture her, things didn't necessarily go exactly as planned.

* * *

**11:22 PM**

**Robinson Park**

"Batman, Gordon said that Ivy called Mayor Hill about fifteen minutes ago." Robin said to me. Apparently the radio had gone off. I had been too busy trying to plan our assault on Robinson Park.

_"And?"_

"Apparently her only request is that we stay away from the Park." I could tell by the tone of his voice that he was surprised by her small request. So was I.

_"Who's we?" _

"Just us."

_"She specifically said the two of us?" _I asked him.

"Batman and Robin are to stay away from Robinson Park. That's what Gordon said she told the Mayor."

_"Great."_

We sat for several minutes as I did what I could to formulate a plan. Suddenly, Robin spoke up again.

"Do you think the rumors are true?"

_"What?" _

"Well, there are rumors that her powers have continued to mutate and they've given her the ability to control plants for a limited amount of time. Do you think it's true?"

_"What do you think?" _I asked him, encouraging him to think more.

"I think that we've seen some pretty weird stuff. All I'm saying is a woman who could control plants and spit poison wouldn't be the weirdest thing we've been up against."

_"That's it?" _I asked him, trying not to sound too disappointed with his apparent lack of interest in thinking things more thoroughly. Apparently, I did a poor job of hiding it.

"If she survived having numerous lethal doses of plant poison shoved into her body, I think there is also a high probability that she could have limited control over plants. Better?"

_"Much. Now, listen up. We're going to have to go in separate and silent. Now, if she does have control over plants, then we're probably going to be sensed the moment we enter the park. However, I believe that she will let us get to her."_

"Why? If she really controls the plants, she could just down us the second we tried to get close."

_"True. But as crazy as she is, she's also vain. She enjoys the attention she gets from the two of us. She'll let us get close and then she'll attack. I have a feeling she'll go for you first."_

"What?"

_"You aren't her age. I am. As much as she is out to control everyone else, she is largely out of control. Her actions are usually controlled by what her body feels."_

"Great. So because I'm not her type, I'm gonna get wrapped up into some crazy Venus Flytrap."

_"It's possible. So have a Batarang in your hand at all times. Whatever you do, don't drop them."_

"OK. So what is the plan, other than "don't drop them" of course?" he said with a smirk.

_"We'll separate and come from opposite ends of the park. I'm going to go in quick and try and get there first. I want you to go in slow and watch your surroundings. Try and find the emptiest location you can and set a heat bomb there. Worst case scenario we have to blow it up. She'll be so concerned with the plants that we'll be able to take her down easy."_

"That's it? Just go in separate?" Robin asked in surprise.

_"She's picked a good location that she can control. There's no special way of getting there other than on foot."_

"Fine. Let's do it."

* * *

About twenty minutes later, I had glided towards the south end of the park with Robin heading north. The park was long and I knew it would take me some time to get to the center where she was sure to be located. Of course with me it would take significantly less time than the usual person. Once I made sure that I wasn't going to get attacked by some crazy petunias, I took off at a hard jog.

After about six minutes of running and seeing nothing, I came upon something very strange. In the time it had taken me to run from the edge of the park, a large dome made of thick vines had been formed around the center of the park. It seems that the rumors of her cholorkinesis was true.

However, I noticed something else. Something even more strange. At the base of the done was an arch, a small void of space just big enough for a person to get through. I immediately made my way towards it and sure enough, I looked inside and there was Poison Ivy standing there in all her leafy glory. All she wore was a green unitard that seemed to be made of leaves.

Unfortunately, I had been so caught up in noticing her that I had failed to see something else initially. She had Robin strung up from the ceiling. In fact, it seemed that she had made a gallows out of plant life and then suspended it twenty-five feet in the air. I had a sneaking suspicion that Robin hadn't been as patient as I wanted him to be.

"Come out, Batman. I know you're there. I've always known." Ivy said from her platform. Her silky voice was already getting to me and she had only said one thing.

Not wanting to give her any reason to drop Robin, I moved through the arch and into the center of the domed area.

_"What do you want, Ivy?" _I snarled at the red head.

Instead of answering me, she stood up from her plant throne and made her way down towards me. As she slunk her way towards me, I noticed Robin shifting up above me. Maybe he did have a way to salvage what mistake he had probably made to get himself into this mess.

Up close, Ivy was beautiful. And not because her pheromone said so, although that didn't hurt her cause. She placed her hand on my chest and slowly started trying to caress my face. Needless to say, I was not excited about this.

"I just want a kiss." she said, her voice dropping to a sultry alto.

_"We've been through this Ivy. I've said no before and I'll say it again." _I replied quickly.

She immediately hardened up and I knew that I had probably just made things difficult for myself.

"Fine. Then, I guess I'll just have to drop the Boy Blunder."

_"You don't have to do that."_

"Oh but I do Batman." she snarled at me.

Suddenly, she turned away from me and threw her arms towards Robin. That when a few things happened very quickly. Robin had obviously stashed a Batarang somewhere because before she could lower the platform and drop Robin to his death, he was able to cut himself free. Secondly, Robin had obviously not hidden his heat bomb somewhere outside the dome. Instead, he must have thrown it behind him and attached it to the wall as he was being strung up. Finally, with a swift, hard blow to the head, Poison Ivy was out cold.

"See! It all works out in the end!" Robin yelled from his perch.

**_"Get down here now! We'll be trapped in here to die if we don't get moving!"_**

Without a moment's hesitation, he launched himself towards the dome's exit. Thankfully, Ivy seemed to truly be unconscious and Robin was able to get through. I deftly picked up Ivy and sprinted towards the hole.

Moments later, Robin and I were far enough away that we were able to turn and watch as the whole dome went up in flames. I turned to Robin, enraged.

_"We'll talk about this later." _I whispered, doing my best to control the fury that burned within me. _"Take Ivy back to Arkham. I'll talk to Gordon and work with the GCFD to get this fire out. When you get her back, you tell them that she needs to go in a contained cell. I'll give Arkham the money he needs to make sure she's kept. Once you're done with that, you go home."_

"WHAT? It's only a little after midnight!" Robin screamed at me in protest.

_"You ignored my orders again. We'll talk about it when I get home. You are to go back to the Cave and operate the computers until I get back."_

Without saying another word, Robin grabbed Ivy and took off, leaving me alone with Robinson Park slowly burning to the ground.

* * *

**4:59 AM**

**The Batcave**

Finally, I was back. I had to admit that I was surprised to still see Dick sitting at the computer, filtering through evidence of recent cases. I will also admit that during the rest of my evening out, my anger at him at most subsided. However, seeing him again sparked it up. So, once I showered and changed, I laid into him.

"Dick, if I have to tell you once, I'll tell you a million times, my orders are orders. You don't get to pick and choose which ones you listen to and which ones you ignore." I growled at Dick.

Instantly, he stopped what he was doing turned and stood up. I knew that this was going to be unpleasant.

"It worked, didn't it? You said she was probably going to try and go after me. So, I made sure I got there first so she wouldn't have any choice." Dick said as he tried to explain himself.

"It doesn't matter that it worked, Dick, and it's not even that I don't trust you to make the right choice or that you can't handle it." I replied.

"Well, then what is it?" Dick screamed at me.

"It's that we had a plan already in place. One that we had both agreed upon. Then, without any notification, you decided that you wanted to change the plan."

"My plan was better." Dick muttered softly.

"YOUR _PLAN _BURNED A LARGE MAJORITY OF ROBINSON PARK TO THE GROUND, DICK!"

"So what? I burned some trees down. You can afford to replace them." Dick replied like the wise-ass he was.

"You can't replace something like that, Dick. Robinson Park was a Gotham City Historical Landmark. Now, it's just a big pile of ash. Millions of people use that park every year. How many of them can afford to replace the park? One? Two, maybe three? Dick, I'm not trying to tell you that your plan didn't work. It did. Ivy is back in Arkham and at the end of the day, that's the most important thing."

"But?" Dick said obviously sensing it coming.

"You can't just consider the end. You have to consider the means to the end. In some cases, blowing up a park or a building may be our only option. However, I strongly believe that we could have easily taken down Ivy without blowing up Robinson Park. Plus, I asked you to put it away from the center of the park for a reason. The center of the park had the most dense forest area in the whole park. More trees to burn."

"What's your point, Bruce? I know that I shouldn't have blown the heat bomb up in the center of the park, but other than that, what's your point?"

"Dick, my point is that if you keep abandoning orders, or at the very least leaving me in the dark about what your new plans are, I can't trust you completely. Don't get me wrong. I trust you implicitly. I do. But if you want to change the plan, you can't just do it. As much as I know you hate it, this is still my ship to pilot. You knew that when you got into this."

Dick stood there in silence for a few moments. Finally, he appeared to collect himself and speak up.

"I just wanted to get her. That's it." Dick said softly.

"I know you did. That's why I'm not suspending you. In the end, I know that you had the best interests in mind. Now go to bed. You still have to go to school tomorrow. Don't even both asking Alfred."

"I know."

Dick was upstairs and probably in bed before I even sat down at computer. I worked until eight and then went upstairs and showered. Finally by ten, I was at the office, working on how it would be possible to buy out LexCorp.

No rest for the person stopping the wicked, either.


	11. Part 4: Arkham Asylum

**A/N: Dick is currently a senior in high school**

**August 26, 1997**

**3:24 AM**

The TV broadcast blared in the background as we changed back into our civilian attire after a long night in Gotham.

_"...are now coming in that the man behind the mask is reportedly Jeremiah Arkham, owner and operator of Arkham Asylum. Arkham is famous for taking control of the Asylum from his uncle, Amadeus Arkham, after he reportedly killed the murderer of his family, Martin "Mad Dog" Hawins, fourteen years ago. Amadeus remains an inmate in the asylum although it remains to be..."_

"Why Arkham?" Dick asked as he finished getting dressed.

"What?" I asked, not really hearing his first question. I had too many things on my mind right now.

"Roman. Why would he choose Arkham to replace him?" Dick asked, elaborating on his initial question.

That was one of the many things on my mind, although not necessarily on the top of the list. Just after Poison Ivy's attack on Robinson Park, a new rouge entered Gotham's arena. His name was Black Mask and he used fear and torture to take control of the Red Hood Gang after Joker's capture at the circus seven years ago. He believed that when he wore the mask, he became the physical incarnation of the Roman god whose face the mask was based off of. Using this mystique, he was able to push himself to the top of Gotham's crime scene. Little did I know that the man under the mask was Roman Sionis, former CEO of Janus Cosmetics. After the mysterious death of his parents, Roman was given control of the company. However, he didn't have the business accumen that his father had and he drove the company into the ground. I had then bought control of the company and replaced all of the leadership within it. This action drove him over the edge, leading him to become the Black Mask and once he controlled Gotham, he came after mistake left him in Arkham.

From there, I can only assume that he pushed his vendetta onto Arkham. He was obviously able to convince Arkham that I wasn't good for Gotham and that the only way to get rid of me was to take the Black Mask mantle and come after me. Unfortunately, Arkham wasn't particularly effective and I captured him easily. In fact, we had just gotten done taking him down and placing him in protective custody at GCPD Headquarters.

Finally, after what seemed like several minutes of thinking up an answer, I was ready to respond.

"I think Roman saw that Arkham was flexible. He could easily be bent into whatever sick reality Sionis now lives in. I'm just amazed that he did it so quickly."

"I know. I have to admit that Roman still kind of freaks me out." Dick said as he began to ascend the stairs to the manor. He was obviously trying to get out of finishing up reports for the evening. Lucky for me, I had an ace in the hole.

"Dick. I'd like to talk to you about something." I said firmly. I wasn't trying to scare him, just make him mildly uncomfortable.

"What?" Dick replied as he came back down to the main level of the cave.

"This." I said, holding an envelope in my hand. "Alfred found this in the mail today. Care to explain?"

"Look, Bruce, I wanted to tell you but.." Dick started as I opened the letter and began reading.

_"Mr. Grayson, we are pleased to inform you that have been accepted into the Gotham State University Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps, starting August 1998. You will be required to report for duty one week before the beginning of the semester of basic instruction and training. We thank you for your application and wish you the best of luck in your time with us."_

As I finished reading, the look on Dick's face was priceless.

"I made it?" Dick asked in surprise. "They don't ever take people this early. One of my classmates said that they wouldn't accept me until at least next fall."

Slowly, I approached him and just when he thought I was going to lay into him for going behind my back, I extended my hand to him.

"Congratulations, Dick." I said, truly meaning it. When I had read the letter for the first time earlier that day, the only emotion I had had was pride. The young boy that I had been tasked with raising was now a strong, courageous, and heroic young man. I certainly hoped that somewhere his parents looked down on him and smiled.

Once he realized that I truly meant what I said, he took my hand and shook it firmly.

"I think this means we need to celebrate." I replied with a smirk. "Anything you want."

"Anything?" Dick replied, a mischievous look on his face.

"OK. Maybe not anything." I replied, laughing heartily at the disappointment in his face. I was sure that he was going to ask for my Jaguar. He loved that car and had made it known to me that if I ever got tired of it, he would gladly take it off of my hands. Thankfully for the both of us, I hadn't gotten tired of it yet.

"So what do you want?" I asked again.

"Can Barbara come over for dinner some time?" he replied softly.

"I feel like there's a catch hidden somewhere in here." I replied, waiting for him to add his last request.

"I want Alfred to be there. And I think it would be cool if Batman and Robin could delay their nightly appearance until after she left."

There it was. The minute he had mentioned his desire for Barbara Gordon to come over for dinner, I had a suspicion that he would ask that patrols be delayed for that night. It was a once in a lifetime concession I was willing to make.

"If you can get her here, you've got your wish."

* * *

**August 29, 1997**

**8:45 PM**

_I can't believe my luck! _

Three days after Bruce found my letter of acceptance to Gotham State ROTC, I was sitting in one of the smaller dining rooms in the manor with Bruce, Alfred, and Barbara. Getting Babs to say yes to coming hadn't been easy. I had to agree to do her math homework for the next week and I agreed to be her date to homecoming next year if she didn't find another date, although that really wasn't that big of a deal for me.

I did like Babs and I'm sure that she knew it. I wasn't really very stealthy when it came to my behavior towards her. I just wish that I could work up the nerve to actually ask her out, because I'm sure she didn't count this.

"Mr. Pennyworth, this food is wonderful. You are such a good cook!" Barbara shouted out next to me. She was having the same reaction almost everyone had when they tried Al's food for the first time. They would suddenly be compelled to speak up. Bruce and I would often gamble as to how long it would take for people to begin screaming about how great his souffle was. It had taken Barbara only twelve minutes, three minutes short of Bruce's guess and a lot farther off mine. I knew that my Saturday morning would now be spent scrubbing the Batmobile.

"Thank you, Ms. Gordon. However, I must implore that you call me Alfred." he replied, a smirk on his face. Far from being an arrogant man, Alfred did pride himself on being a good cook and Bruce and I could always tell how much the compliments meant to him.

"Alright." Barbara replied. "But then you have to call me Barbara."

"We have a deal, Ms. Barbara." he responded with a smirk.

Bruce and I snorted into our entrees at Alfred's quip. He had always been one with a dry sense of humor and at times like this, it was particularly pronounced.

"Thank you, Alfred." Barbara replied, instinctively understand the joke before turning to Bruce. "So, Mr. Wayne.."

"Bruce."

"Yes, that's what I meant." Barbara replied with a smile. "What is it that you do for Wayne Enterprises?"

Bruce seemed surprised that she would ask him about his work but I knew better. I would never tell Bruce but Barbara was obsessed about getting a job in the Research and Development Department of Wayne Enterprises. Her asking this particular question was as much research as it was simple conversation.

"Well, Barbara, I do a lot. I am the majority owner, which allows me to hire and fire anyone who works for me. Also, I am the chairman of the board of directors, so I am able to control what we do and don't do there as well."

Barbara seemed enthralled with Bruce, which didn't really bother me. I knew that Bruce was just being nice to her and that although Babs may have been infatuated with Bruce, he would never return the favor. However, it did kind of bug me that Babs was mildly ignoring me.

"I heard that LexCorp is trying to move into Gotham. At least that's what Daddy says." Babs said with a smile.

"My lawyers are telling me the same thing. Thankfully, I should be able to block their move."

"How are you going to do that?"

"Well," Bruce started with a smirk that I knew well. It was the only that he only used when he had won and was either playing Playboy Bruce or when he was comfortable with the people around him. "I have the resources to instantly buy out any branch of Lex's company that comes to Gotham. So, if he does try to come here, I'll just tell him to turn around before I buy his company out from under him."

"Wow. That sounds really interesting." Barbara replied.

Bruce laughed before finishing his glass of "wine." I knew that it was only red cranberry juice but it was part of Bruce's facade and I would never do anything to break that. Suddenly, the clock struck nine and I could see the look in Bruce's eye shift.

"Alfred, would you be so kind as to take Barbara home? Dick, you can go with her or stay here." Bruce said, obviously hinting at the choice I was being forced to make.

"I have some homework that I should finish up that's going to take me awhile." I lied, looking at Babs. "I would love to go with you but I'm supposed to be in bed by 11:30 and I haven't done that biology homework yet."

"Dick, you know that bio homework will only take you twenty minutes. Come with us." she replied, using that smile that drove me wild.

"I can't." I lied again, cursing my alter ego. "I'm really sorry but I've just been having a lot of problems with the stuff we've been learning in there. I'll walk you out to the car though."

The smile on her face said that she was disappointed, but that she understood.

* * *

"You could have gone with her, you know." I said as Dick descended the stairs to the cave roughly twenty minutes later.

"Sure, Bruce. When have you ever let me get out of patrols?" he replied, obviously not believing me.

"When have you ever gotten accepted into college." I shot back.

"True. But we need to check-in with Gordon at Arkham tonight and I wouldn't want you to have to go out there on your own."

"Thanks." I replied sarcastically. For whatever reason, Dick jumped at the chance to go out to Arkham. I had a sneaking suspicion it had to do with a particular parent killing clown that was out there but I knew that he would never tell me that he went out there to make sure that the Joker hadn't escaped. For all the times that someone had gotten out, the only scare we had ever gotten with the Joker was a brief spell when he killed a nurse and escaped the main holding cells. Thankfully, he was captured outside the building, nowhere near the docks.

"Not a problem, Bats." he said as he exited the uniform bay with everything but his mask on. I was still amazed with how quickly Dick had grown over the last few years. It seemed that every few months, I had to refit him for a new suit. The skinny gymnast that I remember when I first brought him home had grown into an incredible athlete. While he didn't quite have my bulk or power, he made up for it by being much quicker and flexible. Also, his parkour had improved dramatically over the last couple months alone. While originally he had trouble keeping up with me on patrols, it seemed like he was racing me everywhere and nearly winning. It was only through my immense knowledge of the Gotham skyline that I was able to beat him.

He made his way over to me by the computers and took the seat next to me. I used this to take my chance to get up and get changed for the evening as well.

"So, we'll wait about an hour and then I'll call Gordon. Hopefully, he'll still be at Arkham. Otherwise, we'll have him meet us there to go over the new security."

"Great." Dick yelled from the computers. "Do you know who he plans to put over there?"

"Reading through some of the reports that I was able to copy from Gordon's files, it looks like Bullock and Montoya will both be over there."

"Really? Montoya? He's practically brand new!" Dick said in shock.

"I know but Gordon hired him personally out of Coast City so he must trust him. We have to have confidence that Gordon will put the right people on the job." I replied.

A couple minutes later, I had finished suiting up and was ready to go.

_"Ready?" _I growling, finally entering my alter ego's persona.

"Born."

* * *

**10:33 PM**

_"How's the transfer going?" _I asked Gordon as I suddenly appeared behind him at the docks of Arkham Island.

Maybe it was me, maybe it was the island, either way Jim jumped half a mile up in the air before he turned around to answer me.

"It's going fine." he replied shortly before loosening his tie and continuing. "Bullock and Montoya have taken care of getting all of the former armed personnel of the island. Now, all the doctors will go through the most thorough background check we can use. Only the ones that get a perfect score will get to come back to the island. Visitors are going to have to set an appointment at least a month ahead of time. They'll be stripped down and they'll only be allowed to wear scrubs."

_"Not that many inmates here get visitors." _

Gordon chuckled before he replied.

"Well in the intensive ward, yeah. However, according to the old Warden, a lot of the low security inmates get visitors just like anyone else at a crazy house would get."

_"What are you doing with them?" _I asked him.

"The low security inmates? They're being sent to Metropolis until I can find a better place to hold them."

_"Wonderful." _I growled.

* * *

Twenty minutes after we had ditched Gordon at Arkham Island, I was in the car, calling a friend.

_"Clark?" _I said into the phone.

"Bruce? What's the matter?" Clark Kent replied over the phone.

_"Gordon is moving some of the lower risk patients from Arkham to an unknown location in Metropolis. Among them is Edward Nygma. Make sure to keep an eye on him. I wouldn't want him to get out and ruin your city too."_

"Sounds good, Bruce. Oh, by the way, did Diana ever get ahold of you about Hal?" Clark said, changing the subject.

"No." I said, reverting back to my regular voice to indulge the Blue Boy Scout. "What's the matter?"

"Well," Clark huffed into the phone. "Apparently, he was on his trip back to Oa to recharge his ring. He hasn't returned. That was four months ago. I've been trying to cover Coast City and Oliver has started covering it on the weekends. But, we can't expect the both of us to be able to cover both locations for very long."

Oliver Queen AKA The Green Arrow. Within the last two years, he had come onto the scene as a masked vigilante in Star City. I knew him as the cocky CEO of Queen Industries, one of Wayne Enterprises' main competitors. However arrogant he was, I had to admit that he was the most accurate marksmen I had ever met. We had invited him into our small unnamed cabal just six months ago.

"What about John?"

John's real name was J'onn J'onnz and as ridiculous as it still sounded to Bruce, he was the last of the of an ancient race of aliens that lived on Mars. While he was there, he was the equivalent of a Martian Police Officer. He stood well over six feet tall and had bright green skin. As Martians are apparently shapeshifters and telepaths, he never spoke in his true Martian form, instead opting to speak telepathically. Traditionally, he transformed into a human whenever he went out into the public so that he didn't incite a panic. He joined our group roughly a year ago.

"He's going to check in but he doesn't like to be tied down to one location." Clark replied shortly. "Oh, there's something else."

_"What?" _I asked, reverting back to my Batgrowl, obviously indicating that I wanted to be done with this conversation.

"I've been talking to the President as Superman and he seems to think that we should get a base of operations. He's even talking about utilizing some government funding to provide us a facility in DC."

_"Absolutely not. I'm not against a base of operations. But, if we accept government money, then we become government contractors. That means that the government controls who we fight and when."_

"Why are you also so pessimistic, Bruce? They're offering us their blessing." Clark replied sharply.

_"Because I know how horrible the world is, Clark. If we want a base, I'll pay for it." _I replied in anger before I hung up the phone.

Robin and I sat in silence as we continued our trip back to the Manor. Suddenly, Robin spoke up.

"So when do I get to join the League?" he asked softly.

"Excuse me?" I replied, shocked out of using my traditional growl.

"Your team. When do I get to join? I turn 18 next year and I've worked with you for three years now." he asked, even quieter than before.

_"You have. But, you aren't ready for it yet. Plus, I don't want to start introducing minors into our "League" or whatever you called it." _I replied using the softest tone I could.

"Alright. I was just curious." Dick said, regaining some of his confidence. I almost spoke again when the radio cried out.

**_"JOKER HAS ESCAPED! Calling all units, the man known as the Joker has escaped from the Asylum. He was last seen on 45th Avenue! Three nurses killed and two officers, including Dectective Montoya!"_**


	12. Part 4: Leaving the Nest

******_"JOKER HAS ESCAPED! Calling all units, the man known as the Joker has escaped from the Asylum. He was last seen on 45th Avenue! Three nurses killed and two officers, including Dectective Montoya!"_**

Instantly, Bruce wretched the car around and made a beeline for Arkham. We knew that we needed to find Joker but we also needed to check out the Asylum first.

Within three minutes, we had ran four stoplights and nearly killed an elderly woman walking across the street. Thankfully, no one died because of Batman's recklessness and we arrived at the front gate of the Asylum.

There was a huge police force at the Asylum. Not surprising considering the death of two officers. Normally, Batman would have opted to sneak up on Gordon, but tonight, he didn't waste that time. He walked right up to the Commissioner.

_"What happened?" _

Gordon sighed heavily before he responded. He already looked tired and the night was just beginning.

"We were moving all of the prisoners into the main building. It's the only one with the appropriate security measures and the building is big enough to house everyone. He was the last inmate in the lockdown wing that needed to be moved. They cuffed his arms and his legs but just as they got out of range of the camera and the armed guards, he turned and bit one of the guards that was escorting him."

"How bad was it?" I asked cautiously.

"He tore out the jugular. He bled to death." Gordon replied solemnly. "Then, he attacked the other two guards. One of them as a broken leg and the other has a knife in his side. For whatever reason, they had the keys to his cuffs. Once he found those, he took the gun off the guard he killed and made his way outside."

_"The radio report said three nurses were killed." _Batman observed.

"They were all in the lobby. They were the first people that he saw after escaping. He shot all three of them in the stomach and then again in both legs. Not enough to kill instantly, but enough so they slowly bled to death before we could save them."

"What about Montoya?" I replied. For some reason, I was talking a lot more than usual.

"He was standing outside waiting for Joker's transfer. When Joker came outside, Det. Montoya was facing the wrong direction. So Joker blew out his kneecap, probably taunted him for a few seconds, and then unloaded the rest of the clip into him. The lockdown guards carry Ruger AR15 Carbines."

"What does that mean?" I asked Batman.

_"A 40 round clip. Assuming it hadn't been used, he used 9 on the nurses and then 1 on Montoya's knee."_

"30 rounds?"

All Batman did was nod. I thought I was going to be sick.

"Then, he took Montoya's keys and stole his car. We were able to shut off the vehicle but he got away before we could apprehend him. We're really going to need your help. There's no way we can follow the leads in time to capture him before he can do something heinous." Gordon admitted.

_"We'll find him."_

* * *

Forty minutes later, Bruce and I were at the recently created Satellite Cave underneath Wayne Tower in downtown Gotham. From there, we were able to hack into the city's security camera system and figure out where the Joker had gone. As we watched the tape, the police car he was driving came to a sudden halt. Just when you thought he was going to be trapped in the vehicle, the driver's window exploded outward and he dove out the window, shotgun in hand. We spent the next twenty minutes tracking his movements in various places around the city. Finally, we found that he had taken refuge at an old warehouse for Axis Chemical.

Bruce pulled his cowl back over his face and as he adjusted it, he spoke.

_"Initiate lock down sequence." _

"What's that for?" I asked Bruce as I replaced my own mask.

_"This place has some new security measures. We now have five minutes to get out before the system goes active and becomes very deadly."_

"Awesome." I said, always loving when he upgraded the security. It always gave me a good excuse to try it out. However, if Bruce is using the word deadly, that usually meant for him. That meant that NO ONE was getting in.

Another twenty minutes later, we were at the warehouse, armed with Batarangs and my handy bo staff. We lined up on the building opposite the warehouse, ready to swing across at a moment's notice. In fact, we were nearly ready to go when a voice rang out from behind them.

"Look boys! It's the Bat and his Boy Wonder!"

Instantly, we both turned around to see Joker and a small army of henchmen. Apparently, Joker had been recruiting.

_"Joker." _Batman growled next to me.

"Ooooooo. You seem upset." Joker giggled. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

He instantly stepped forward and got right in Bruce's face. He instantly stepped out and grabbed Joker around the neck. In a flash, all of Joker's henchmen raised their weapons and aimed them at Batman.

"Put your guns down, you fools! You'll hit me!" Joker yelled at his lackeys. "Plus, I'm sure Bats will put me down."

_"Why would I do that?" _

"That little red dot on your boy's forehead."

Batman turned and looked at me and the look on his face told me everything. Somewhere in the distance, a sniper was focused in on me.

"Put me down, Batman. Or I'll tell my boy to pop on in your boy's noggin." Joker said menacingly.

_"You wouldn't." _Batman replied. I nearly laughed as he said it.

Joker did laugh. Hard.

"Do you _know _me, Bats? I would shoot your boy just for fun!" Joker growled. "Now let me go!"

Batman hesitated a little longer than Joker must have wanted him to. Suddenly, he pulled his sleeve up to his mouth and spoke.

"Drop him."

In a flash, I saw the red dot on my forehead drop to my stomach. Then, before I knew what was happening, I was down.

* * *

"Drop him."

To my horror, I saw that red dot move to Robin's stomach. The next second, a shot rang out and Robin fell off the side of the building. Forgetting about the Joker, I dropped him and dove after him. As I grabbed him, I grappled up to the closest building. From there, I was able to lower us to the ground and remotely call the Batmobile.

Once we were down, I assessed the damage. One shot from a .50 caliber sniper rifle to the midsection. Probably from a couple hundred yards away. Joker must have gotten Deadshot or someone as good. The last time I checked Floyd Lawton was in Blackgate, but I guess that it was possible that he had been released.

Going back to looking at the shot, I was thankful that the bullet had exited in the back. That meant no bullet to remove. Unfortunately, the explosive mark in the back meant that he had used a phosphorus round that had formerly been used by fighter planes. The bullet was incredibly rare. If Lawton didn't fire the shot, he certainly knew who did.

Phosphorus rounds used on people were rare but when it did happen, it meant a lot of scarring and pain. Robin was going to be out of commission for awhile.

Moments later, the Batmobile pulled into the alley I had hid us in. I quickly loaded Robin into the passenger seat and just as got in, Joker's men started on firing on the car. Lucky for the both of us, they didn't have weapons large enough to penetrate the armoring I had recently put on the 'Mobile. I reached forward and hit a button on the console, hailing Alfred at home.

"Sir?" Alfred's concerned voice rang out in the car.

"Dick's been hit." I said, utilizing my normal voice to try and calm myself down. While I was sure that Dick would survive, I was certainly worried about any potential spinal damage from where the bullet went through.

"What shall I do?" Alfred asked. His voice remained as elevated as before but it got no worse.

"Prep the medical bay in the Cave. Also, call Leslie. We may need her if it's bad enough."

Leslie Thompkins was one of the few people that both Batman and Bruce Wayne trusted. She had been there to help Alfred care for Bruce after his parents had been killed. If Bruce was honest with himself, he often thought of the pair of them as his surrogate parents, taking over for his own when they couldn't any longer. The only part that made his relationship with Leslie difficult was her incredibly strong pacifist attitude. The first time that Bruce had taken a bullet during his quest for justice, Alfred had called Leslie to help him. While she strongly detested the way that Bruce chose to fight violence, she supported Bruce and had shared his secret with no one.

Unfortunately, he wasn't hurt. He could deal with her when he was injured. But now that it was Dick, he knew there would be no stopping her.

"Are you sure that is wise, Master Wayne? She may forget that she is against violence if she finds out that she will be working on Master Grayson."

He knew that Alfred was right.

"Call her anyway, Alfred. She might be right."

"Yes, Master Wayne. She'll be here when you arrive."

* * *

Alfred was right in all regards. She was there when Bruce and Dick returned from the city. Unfortunately, he was also right about her mood. She was enraged.

"Well Bruce I hope you're happy! It serves you right when you get shot but that's not enough for you, is it? Now, you have to get one of the few people you do care about shot!"

Bruce removed his cowl before he spoke to her. He had considered talking to her as Batman, but knowing that she deserved better and that it would just serve to make her angrier, he had decided against it.

"Leslie, as I told you when you found out that Dick was going to become Robin, it was his decision. Do you ever think what someone with his ability could do if not properly observed?" I argued in return.

"You are Batman! That's what you do! You could have stopped him!" Leslie screamed at him.

"Maybe. But what happens when I get too old to stop him? What happens when he gets better than me? Who can stop him then?" I yelled back. "I'll admit that I was frightened to think of what someone so smart and so physically able could do when properly motivated? And what better motivation that the death of the parents, caused by a deranged clown? I did as much to protect the world as I did it to gain a partner!"

Finally, Leslie seemed to calm down. I'm sure that this wasn't the end of our arguments but for now, she seemed more concerned with Dick that with our fight.

"Where is he?"

"He's still in the car. Is the medical bay ready?"

Leslie nodded as she walked towards it. I quickly ran back to the car and pulled Dick out of the passenger seat. Walking as quickly as I could, I arrived at the medical bay and set Dick down on the operating table. Leslie immediately got to work. Her time as a forensic scientist before she became a surgeon made her the best person to both help Dick and identify the type of bullet and shot needed to fire it.

After she took the upper half of Dick's uniform off, she began working, examining the wound.

".50 caliber. Definitely fired from a high velocity rifle." Leslie spoke, mostly to herself. She continued to work on her own when she suddenly spoke up again. "This is interesting."

"What is?" I asked her as Alfred and I stepped closer.

"The wound is uneven. However, it's not like the shot was fired from an angle. You'd still get a completely symmetrical wound. It would just be rotated to match the angle of fire. But, if you look at this, you'll see that part of the wound isn't nearly as fleshed out as the rest of it is."

"What does that mean?" Alfred asked her.

"It means, my dear, that when the bullet entered Dick's torso, it wasn't a complete bullet. Which means that the person either miraculously bounced the bullet off a surface to hit Dick or that they purposely shaved off part of the bullet so that it would turn ever so slightly and make it nearly impossible to track."

"Sounds like Deadshot." Alfred said, repeating what I had earlier thought.

Instantly, I turned and began pacing.

"What is it, Master Bruce?" Alfred said, noticing the worry in my eyes when I matched his. "This is not your fault, Master Bruce. Dick knew the risks when he agreed to join you."

"Yes, but I should have made sure that he was older when I allowed him out there." I said, confirming to myself what I was about to do. I turned to the computer and spoke again.

"Computer, initiate Operation Bird-Down."

Suddenly, the uniform bay section devoted to Robin's closed up.

"What are you doing, Master Wayne?" Alfred asked with worry.

"At 11:30 PM, Robin was shot in the stomach and I was unable to get him back to the Cave in time. At 11:41 PM, Robin succumbed to his injuries." I spoke to the computer.

Instantly, Alfred ran over to me and grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me.

"What are you doing!"

"I'm undoing it! I can't take that he might not survive the next time this happens because it will happen again!" I replied back to Alfred, raising my voice.

Finally, I calmed myself down and spoke again.

"Robin is no more."

Unfortunately for me, Leslie had drugged Dick and with the lack of pain, he had managed to wake up.

"What!" he said as he still winced at the pain he was feeling.

I hadn't wanted to tell him this way but now that he had heard there was no other way.

"Dick, you're done. You need to get out of this. You have a life and you should be allowed to live it. Plus, I couldn't stand it if you got shot again and something worse happened."

Dick seemed to be taking it in stride. I slowly stood up and despite the hole in his stomach and back, he began to pace back and forth. Leslie stepped forward and tried to stop him but he waved her off. I stepped forward and was within arm's reach of him when I spoke again.

"This isn't your fight, Dick. I'm doing this to protect you."

That's when the most unexpected thing in the world happened: Dick turned sharply and pulled an uppercut directly under my chin. Despite his injury, he could still throw a punch. The power combined with its unexpected nature knocked me straight backwards onto the floor. Dick sat down on the edge of the operating table, obviously in pain.

"Not my fight, Bruce! Last time I checked Joker killed my parents, not yours! If this is anyone's fight, it is mine! Who do you think you are?"

Something inside my snapped as I stood back up.

"I'm in charge! That's who I am! From the beginning I've told you that this was my show. And sure, for awhile, you listened. But then, you decided that you knew better than I did! Who trained for seven years to become the best? I did! I am Batman and you _were _Robin!"

Then, just as suddenly as I had snapped, I returned to a normal state of thinking. One where I realized how horrible what I had said was.

"Dick, I'm...I'm so sorry."

Suddenly, Dick changed too. He shifted from his aggressive stance to a much more passive one. He tricked me into thinking that he was forgiving me.

"It's okay, Bruce. You're right. You don't need Robin. Freeze wouldn't have killed you if I hadn't been there. This is your show, afterall."

"Dick, really. I'm sorry."

Then, just as suddenly as he'd changed, he was back.

"I don't fucking care whether you're sorry or not! You think that you can do what you do without me! I thought that we were partners, Bruce. I thought that after five years, I had earned the right to fight beside you. Not because you let me but because you considered me an equal! But, here's the truth: you don't think anyone is your equal. And you know what? For now, you're probably right. But one day, someone will be better than you for one day and they will kill you. But do you know who could be better than both of us? NO ONE!"

"Dick, I thought we said that this was my operation to run." I replied calmly, trying to justify myself.

"Why, Bruce? What gives you the right? What did you ever have to fight for? You had a billion dollar trust fund that got you everywhere you wanted to go! Anytime you wanted to come home from your travels, you could have! You don't know what it's like to go without food because the promoter of your show takes the profit first and if the show doesn't make enough money, you don't get food! Everything you've done in your life, you've chosen to do! And you think you're better than me?"

"Dick..."

"That's it, Bruce. I'm done." Dick said as he turned to Leslie. "Wrap me up and take me to the clinic. You can do the surgery there."

Then, he turned to Alfred.

"I'll send you the information for where I'll be staying at." he said, giving Alfred a brief, painful hug.

"How will you survive?" I asked Dick.

"What you don't know is that my parents asked half of every paycheck they ever received from the circus to be put in a trust fund for me. When I turned 18 last year, the specifics were send to me. At one of your parties, I asked Lucius Fox to do some simple investing. He turned it into three million dollars. So, even though I started school late because of my life in the circus, I can legally move out of here and on my own. I'll finish high school early at the end of this year and then enroll at GSU like I was planning on it."

I was dumbfounded that I didn't know any of this. Lucius had kept it from me. Alfred had probably kept this from me. Dick was serious. He was leaving.

"Dick, I'm...I don't know what to say."

Dick looked at me one more time.

"If you come to where I live, I'll beat you within an inch of your life. If I want to see you ever again, I'll come to you."

He turned and grabbed the top half of his suit. I watched as he and Leslie got in her car and exited using the service entrance. I couldn't imagine what had just happened. Dick was really gone. In a flash, I had gone from watching the boy I had considered a son eating dinner with his best friend to watching him leaving the Cave.

"Please, come..." I started to talk as tears ran down my face. "Please, Dick, I'll...i...I'll do anything...Please come..._back."_

I sat there on the floor, tears flowing. My son was gone.


	13. Part 5: Mudslide

**March 17, 1998**

**12:11 PM**

"Now, Mr. Beaumont, what do you have for us this afternoon?" Fox said as I walked into the room. Instantly, his eyes met mine. I know that he hadn't been expecting me and that's why he had started the meeting without me.

"Mister Wayne. I didn't know that you were coming in today." Lucius said, obviously looking worried about my presence.

"Forget it, Lucius. Carl, continue." I replied sharply as I took my seat at the end of the table and directed my attention towards Carl. Normally, I didn't attend these meetings but right now, I needed something to take my mind off of things. Seven months later and the mention of my former protege still brought me to a rage. Plus, I actually had something to contribute.

I had long since gotten over being sad over his absence. In fact, while at the time I had been ready to blame myself for what had happened, that was no longer the case. Every time I traveled back to that place in my memories, I remembered how arrogant and foolish he had been. I may have been hard on him but a boy like him needed it.

"Well, gentlemen, I received a phone call last night from Clinton. While he's planning on cutting the defense budget significantly, he has assured us that none of our grants will be eliminated."

"Wonderful." Lucius replied. "That should keep the stocks up. Do you have anything else for us today?"

"Nothing that I know of."

I took this opportunity to stand up and address the board.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is at this time that I would like to announce my plan to phase out and sell all the weapon contracts for non-military personnel."

As I expected, the reaction was not favorable.

"Mr. Wayne, are you insane?" Darren Powers replied in shock.

"No, Darren, I'm not." I replied coldly. "Also, Wayne Enterprises will no longer endorse any political candidates, judges included, in New York state or New Jersey."

I nearly laughed out loud at their reaction to this.

"Mr. Wayne," Lucius began carefully. "Normally, this would be something that the whole board would agree on. Why would you unilaterally make a decision like this?"

Lucius knew that he was the only person in the room that could slow me down if my currently legendary temper began to flare up.

"Mr. Fox, as the sole majority owner of all things Wayne, it is, in the end, my decision as to what happens with this company's finances."

Lucius looked at me passively and spoke again.

"Are there any other reasons?" Lucius asked me, still careful to remain as unassuming as possible.

"Sure. There's this." I said as I stood and waved my secretary in. In front of each of the board members, she placed a manilla envelope with my report in it.

"Inside this report, you will see why I am going to halt any political contributions and why we are no longer providing fire arms to non-military organizations."

For the next couple minutes, no one spoke. Then, suddenly, Darren Powers spoke up again.

"You must be crazy to think that this is true." he said menacingly.

Finally, someone in the room was able to make me smile.

"Mr. Powers, I've been working with the police for nearly six months now. You see, seven months ago, GCPD discovered cases of weapons from Wayne Enterprises. They were in the possession of men who were knowingly working with the Joker. So, as a favor to me, Comissioner Gordon came to me and asked me to explain their presence."

Darren stood up and spoke again.

"Well, it's obvious. Someone from their gang must have stolen them." he said, convinced of his truth.

"I thought so too, Mr. Powers. So, I went through and checked every inventory for this particular kind of weapon since we started manufacturing them four years ago. It turns out that every single shipment went off without a hitch. Nothing lost, nothing stolen."

"Well, that's interesting." Lucius said next to me.

"Quite. So, per our contract for selling our weapons to other companies to sell, I checked their records. All of the companies showed the same results as us, except for one. This company showed that a large portion of their weapons were disappearing every month. Would you like to know the name of this company?"

Everyone in the room waited in anticipation.

"Powers Technology." I said with a grim smile.

Instantly, Darren Powers lost it.

"How dare you accuse me of stealing weapons from my own company, Wayne! Why would I ever do anything like that?"

Finally, I had him where I wanted him, angry and open.

"Well, it turns out that when Carl was caught giving money to the Red Hood Gang, he stopped giving into them and stopped funding them. So, they looked to someone else who could get them what they wanted. And they found you, Powers. After GCPD did some digging, they found out that you signed a release form every month for some of those guns. Do you know the name that they were signed out to?"

Darren stood in the back of the room, pale and silent.

_"Joe White. _Joseph White was the leader of the Red Hood Gang when Joker was involved in it. Now, the police doubts that Joker was picking up the guns while he was in Arkham. But, a quick analysis of the handwriting did come up with one match. Do you know who that could be?"

"No." was all Powers could muster.

"City Councilman Armond Krol." I said, almost growling as I spoke. "Krol signed for every single one of the these reports. Eye witnesses say that he always came with another man. Tall, dark hair, greased back. They all recognized him as Arthur Reeves, another city councilman."

Finally, Powers seemed to gain his bravado back.

"So, what? They signed the forms to take some of the weapons. They said they were using them to supply under-supplied GCPD officers."

"Well, that's the story they told too. Except that when we checked GCPD, there was no evidence of these weapons ever being distributed. More specifically, a large sum of money always entered your bank account each month. And that same amount split in two always exited theirs. Finally, the tracking numbers of the guns found by GCPD match the ones we gave to your company. So, it seems that you were using MY guns to sell to corrupt councilmen who were then giving them to the most prominent gang in Gotham. What do you have to say to that?"

For a second, he remained silent.

"So what? So what if I knew they were giving the guns to the Red Hood? You aren't a cop, Wayne, as much as it seems that you would like to be one."

I laughed before pointing behind him.

"No, but he is."

Instantly, Powers turned around to see Detective Harvey Bullock standing just outside the board room. Bullock quickly strode in and cuffed Powers up. Rather than continue to fight, Powers quietly submitted to the police. As Powers and Bullock left the room, Commissioner Gordon entered the room and approached me.

"Mr. Wayne, I would like to thank you for cooperating with us." he said as he extended his hand. I eagerly took it and shook it happily.

"You are more than welcome, Jim. And please, call me Bruce."

"Well, then Bruce, thanks again. I'm sure we'll be in touch." he said with finality as he turned and left the room.

Quickly, I turned back to the board.

"This meeting is adjourned. We'll reconvene at noon tomorrow."

* * *

Thirty-five minutes later, I was working in my office when Lucius entered my office, unannounced. He took a seat in the chair opposite my desk and waited until I finished with what I was working on before he spoke up.

"How did you get this information?" he asked softly.

"A mutual friend." I replied cryptically.

"A mutual friend? Bruce, years ago, you told me that a mutual friend would be taking various things out of the Applied Sciences Division and they did. You told me to trust you and I did. Things have disappeared around there for years and you've never thought to stop it. But suddenly a shipment of guns end up in the wrong place and you spend six months hunting for the person that did it. How did you know it wasn't your friend?"

"I know."

"HOW?" he said, raising his voice for the first time in my presence.

Instead of screaming back at him, I stood up and walked to the window where I watched my city crumble before my very eyes.

"You know." I said quietly.

Suddenly, the world seemed to come into focus for him.

"You?"

I turned and sat back down in the chair on my side of the desk.

"Door, lock. Camera, rewind 30 seconds and delete. Proceed to shutdown." I said, seemingly to no one

_"Confirmed." _

"What was that?" Lucius asked me.

"Within the system that we have here at Wayne Enterprises, there is an override that I alone control. It allows me to lock any door, turn off any camera, and access any computer."

I didn't like the look on Lucius' face.

"Bruce, that's an extreme violation of privacy." he said, almost scolding me.

"I am well aware of that, Lucius. But as you have no doubt figured out, it is definitely necessary."

Lucius stood and began pacing the office. He stopped where I had been standing near the window and turned to speak again.

"So, you're Batman. Why?"

"Twenty-seven years ago, my parents were brutally murdered in front of my very eyes. I was eight. Ten years later, I watched as the man who killed them stood up for what he had done and help the District Attorney catch Rupert Thorne. In response, he was killed by the mob."

"But, why couldn't you just pay to help the police force? Why do it yourself?"

"Because no matter how much money I have, they aren't going to play by the rules."

Lucius stood up and turned to leave the room.

"Don't lie to me, Mr. Wayne. How much money has this company lost on this?"

"Absolutely nothing. I've paid everything back that I've taken." I assured him.

"Good." he said and turned with nothing more.

* * *

**March 18, 1998**

**8:11 AM**

After a relatively short and uneventful night on patrols, I had been home, researching locations where Joker could be hiding. I still hadn't found him in the months since my last encounter with him. I had finally come out of the cave when I heard a TV on. I walked towards the kitchen where the TV rang out with this line:

_"Police Commissioner James W. Gordon has been suspended from active duty, effective at 5 PM this evening. Gordon has been under investigation due to his supposed relation with Detective Sarah Essen and also his reluctance to issue an arrest warrant for the armed vigilante, Batman."_

"This again?" I growled in obvious agitation.

"It appears so, Master Wayne." Alfred replied as he prepared breakfast.

"Since when is it illegal to date someone?" I asked rhetorically.

"Well, Master Wayne, when that person is your boss, it is most definitely frowned upon."

"Or when you don't play ball with the politicians." I replied.

"Also quite true. Would you like me to update you on Master Grayson?"

"Alfred, what have I told you about that?"

"I thought that maybe you had decided to forgive your former protege for his behavior and that the two of you could work on beginning to forgive each other."

"Damn it, Alfred. Just drop it."

"As you wish." he said as he silently went about finishing breakfast.

* * *

**9:49 PM**

_"Good evening, Jim." _I said as I finished sneaking in the window of his apartment. He was sitting in front of the television, watching the Gotham Knights play the Metropolis Wizards. Thankfully, he was still able to ignore the basketball game to be scared out of his wits.

"Jesus, could you knock next time?" he said as he turned the TV off and faced me. He had taken off his glasses and he sat in an old pair of gym shorts and a tank top. He had a beer in his hand and three empty bottles laying next to him.

_"I see that you're taking the news well." _I nearly joked.

"Sarah told me that I have nothing to worry about. She says that our Union will help me get my job back. In the meantime, some cop that is assuredly owned by city council will take my job and start looking for reasons to fire good cops. If this lasts longer than a couple weeks, all that we've worked for will be gone. Nine years of work rebooted in a couple days."

_"We'll get this fixed, Jim. Who's coming after you? Anyone in particular?"_

"Krol and Reeves. By doing this, we can't go after them. It will just seem like a desperate attempt to get them back."

I paced back and forth in the middle of his living room for a couple seconds, giving myself time to think.

_"We can still get them. Do you know who's replacing you?" _

Jim took his seat on his couch again and opened another beer.

"Well, I'm sure that as Senior Detective in Major Cases, Harvey Bullock will get promoted. But, he's going to be watched very carefully. Probably by the Mayor himself. He's not the cleanest cop in the department but he's the safest bet so that way people don't go crazy in the streets."

_"Well, Hill has been Mayor of this town for far too long." _I answered aggressively.

Gordon took a long swig before he replied.

"You want to go after Hamilton Hill? The man is bought and paid for by every mob family in Gotham and its surrounding areas. That's like going the mob themselves.

_"Maybe it's time."_

"You are insane. Plus, if Harvey is named Commissioner, he'll almost assuredly reinstate the manhunt for you."

_"I'm not worried."_

"You should be." Jim said as he turned to face me. But when he did, all he saw was an empty room and an open window. "Damn it, I'm going to nail his feet to the floor one of these days."

* * *

**10:24 PM**

About twenty minutes later, I had arrived at GCPD. I slowly scaled the building until I got the window of Gordon's office. As I expected, it was occupied by one man.

_"Good evening, Detective." _I said after sneaking into the window.

Bullock was obviously not as comfortable with my abrupt entrances as Gordon was.

"Jesus, man, you scared the shit out of me."

_"What are you doing here?" _I asked harshly.

Bullock lit his cigar before he answered.

"Waiting for you. I know that you sneak in here to talk to Gordon every night. I also figured that you would probably know about Gordon's suspension which probably means you would have gone to his pathetic apartment to talk to him. He then almost assuredly would have told you that the most logical choice for our corrupt mayor to appoint in Gordon's place was me because I was Gordon's partner, which will look good to the public, and also because I've done enough morally questionable things that the mob would potentially be happy with me in Gordon's place."

_"I'm impressed." _was my honest reply. _"I have questions."_

"Like what?" Bullock replied as he chewed on his cigar.

_"What's the status of the manhunt on me?"  
_

"Currently, we are understaffed and are not able to make Batman a priority."

_"Also, where are we on the investigations of Krol and Reeves?"_

Harvey sighed slightly. He put his cigar out and any life that had been present before suddenly left him.

"Mayor Hill very kindly came in and told me that if anyone even looks at the case, I will be quickly out of a job."

Quickly, I managed to think of a solution.

_"Give me the information. The files. Everything."_

"What? You've got to be kidding me? I'll get fired for that alone!"

_"If you give me that info, I'll turn it in to every news affiliate in town. Every federal agent in town will get a copy of it by six o'clock tomorrow morning." _I growled.

"How?" Bullock nearly yelled at me.

_"I have my ways. Now, give me the files."_

* * *

Ten minutes later, I had made my way back to the Batmobile when I heard a loud clanging noise. Instantly, I ducked behind the nearest dumpster and took a glimpse at my car. What I saw definitely surprised me. A teenager, roughly Dick's age, was trying to break into my car. Instantly, I took action. With two large bounds, I jumped out from behind the dumpster and grabbed him. I sharply turned and pinned him up against the wall behind me.

_"What are you doing?" _I screamed at the boy.

"I needed the money. My parents were killed a couple weeks ago and the foster home I'm living in won't feed me. I saw the ride and figured if I could steal it and sell it for parts, I could eat for the next couple weeks."

Slowly, I put him down. He was tall for his age. He already nearly stood as tall as I did and I'm sure that he wasn't done growing.

_"What's your name?"_

"Jason Todd." he replied shortly. His fear was seeming to subside as I talked to him more calmly. Also, no longer being held a foot and a half off of the ground probably helped.

_"How old are you?"_

"16."

_"You say you live in a foster home?" _I continued quizzing him.

"Yeah, over in the Bowery."

Great. No one survives in the Bowery. It was easily the worst part of town. Suddenly, I heard a noise behind me and I turned to see no less than ten armed thugs, guns leveled at me.

"Well, what have we here? The Bat and Robin."

_"He's not Robin. Let him go and you can have me." _I replied harshly.

"Oh, I don't think so. Todd has some business with us, right?" he said, looking directly passed me and at the teenager behind me. I turned my head sharply.

_"Business?"_

"Well, I borrowed some money from these guys to start growing. It's the only way to make money down here."

_"Not anymore." _I said savagely as I grabbed four batarangs from my belt. Instantly, I launched myself up in the air and fired the batarangs at the gang. As I expected, they decided to fire on me instead of the boy. As I landed, I ducked under the leader's gun and immediately went to work.

Within the close range of the shooters, they couldn't use their guns without risking hitting their friends. As I fought I counted eleven men. A swift uppercut to one, down to ten. Another reached in to grab me. Poor decision. I grabbed his arm and broke it and then threw him at three more of his comrades. Only six left. Unfortunately, the lack of men now encouraged them to start shooting again. One of their stray bullets hit me in the ankle and another in the stomach. Nothing life threatening but definitely painful.

A quick grab of a gun of the one closest and a swift smash of the butt end to his forehead knocked another out of commission. Five remaining. Two of them decided to charge me. Another bad choice. I strongly grabbed the head of each and smashed them together. Two more down, three left. As I finished hanging one with my grapnel, I saw one run away and the other raise his gun to fire at me. Even though I managed to punch him in the face and knock him unconscious he put two bullets in my right arm.

With all of the men down, I took a second to assess myself. All four wounds were clean entries and exits. That would make Alfred happy. Having established that I would be in pain but fine, I turned to the boy.

_"You're done growing. Now."_

"Hey, I don't know who the hell you th-"

Instantly, I convinced my injured body to launch myself at him and lift him by his shirt again. Although my insides screamed, I knew it was for a good reason.

_"Now."_

"Ok." Todd replied as his eyes suddenly got large. Instantly, I knew that there was something bad behind me.

I turned just in time to see one of the fallen thugs lift his gun. I knew that I was done. However, what I hadn't accounted for was Todd wrestling himself from my reach and pulling me to the ground. The two shots that the thug had left his gun missed by inches just above our heads. Once we hit the ground, Jason jumped up and grabbed the gun from the injured man. He pulled it back like a baseball bat and teed off on the man's head, instantly knocking him out. He quickly turned back to me.

"Are you alright?" he asked with worry in his eyes.

_"I've had worse." _I replied as I got back to my feet. _"Get in the car."_

"Why? Where are we going?" he asked in fear.

_"I'm taking you home. Then, tomorrow morning, you are going to meet my supplier for a job interview."_

"Your supplier? What kind of addict are you?" he asked, a cruel smile on his face.

_"Weapons supplier. I'm sure you've heard of him."_

"Who?" the boy asked interested.

_"Bruce Wayne. You'll meet him at the front door of Wayne Enterprises for a job interview. After you go to school, that is."_

"What? I haven't gone to school in months." Todd replied.

We both got into the car and we pulled out of the small alley before I replied.

_"Well, I'm giving you the opportunity to change that. Was it true about your parents?"_

"Yeah, man. They were both killed in a mugging by some crackhead a couple blocks from home."

_"My parents were killed as well." _I admitted to him. _"Don't let that be the end of you. Go to school, work for Wayne."_

We pulled into his apartment complex a couple minutes later. He had been quiet for the last few minutes. Suddenly, he spoke up again.

"Where's Robin?"

_"Retired."_

"Really? That's too bad. I would have loved to be Robin. Get back at those bastards for killing my parents."

That was the last thing he said before he got out of the car.

* * *

Nearly an hour later, I finally arrived back at the Cave. Despite the early hour, I had enough information to continue my investigation from home. Plus, my injuries would have bled out before the end of the night if I hadn't returned home to get Alfred to stitch me up.

"Another wonderful night, Master Bruce?" Alfred asked dryly.

"It was interesting." I replied honestly.

"How so?" Alfred asked as I began undressing to prep for surgery.

"I offered a young man an internship at Wayne Enterprises."

Alfred's face was priceless.

"Excuse me?"

"This boy was trying to steal the Batmobile. I confronted him and he lied to me, telling me he needed the money so he could eat. In reality, he had borrowed money from a gang to grow weed. They confronted us and the first time around I had very little trouble, despite getting hit twice."

"Ahh yes, little trouble. Where have I heard that before?" Alfred replied.

"Nice." I shot back before continuing. "Anyway, one of the thugs got back up and was ready to shoot me when the kid pulled me down and then got up and took care of him. It wasn't pretty but definitely effective. His parents were killed a little while ago in a mugging. So, I offered him an internship at Wayne Enterprises but only if he went back to school."

"Do you think this boy will become the next Robin?" he asked me.

"When I told him that Robin was retired, he said he would be interested in becoming Robin."

"Did he now?"

"Yes, but he said he wanted to do it to get back at the people who killed his parents."

Finally, Alfred had nothing to say.

"He troubles me, Alfred. On one hand, I can see the potential in him. On the other, I fear what he could become with my training."

"Well, sir, there is only way to find out."

I waited a couple seconds to think of a reply but in the end, I could only come up with this:

"Indeed, there is."


	14. Part 5: New Beginnings

**March 18, 1998**

**4:45 PM**

**Bruce Wayne**

Rarely did I ever come down to the main lobby at Wayne Enterprises. However, today I was hopefully meeting Jason Todd there to begin his internship. I had called into his school and found out that he had come to school for the first time in nearly three months and that he had stayed to the end of the day for the first time all year. That was particularly encouraging.

I had spent my morning doing some research on him and his life to date and what I had found hadn't been particularly surprising. His father, Willis, was a small time crook who had been working for Carmine Falcone up until about twelve years ago when he was convicted of a triple homicide in connection with a mob killing. His mother had been dead for nearly ten years and he had bounced around numerous foster homes since then.

So, the kid had lied to me. Not necessarily a surprise. It was something I was going to have to grill him for though.

As I finished my thoughts, I noticed him walking through the front door. He was dressed in baggy jeans and a huge t-shirt with a hat backwards. He walked up to me with all of the attitude he could muster. He was brave. I would have to give him that.

"Wayne, the name is Jason Todd." he said with a smirk.

"Bruce Wayne." I said firmly. "First thing is first, Mr. Todd. You will not come here dressed like this ever again. Is that understood?"

"Sure."

"Second, you will refer to me as Mr. Wayne until I see to it that you have earned the right to call me by my given name. Is that understood?"

"Yeah, man." Jason replied harshly.

"Finally, when I ask you a question, you will answer yes or no. None of this 'sure' or 'yeah.' Have I made myself clear?" I finished.

"Yes, Mr. Wayne." he replied respectfully.

"Good. Now, about your attire, I understand your situation and know that you cannot afford to purchase new clothing. Therefore, as part of you arrangement, clothes will be provided for you. Will that be acceptable?"

"Yes, sir." he answered again.

"You will be here by 4:30 everyday and you will stay until 7, regardless of whether I am here or not. You will work with my secretary if I am not here. If I am here, you will come directly to my office and I will give you your work for the day. Now, follow me." I said before turning abruptly and heading for the elevator. I peaked around to see him slowly following me. As we stepped inside, I observed the boy.

He was examining everything from the floor to the ceiling. He spent his time looking at the buttons and the marble floor of the elevator. Obviously, he had probably never been in a building like this. I'm sure that the view from my office would probably be a surprise for him.

When the elevator reached the top, I stepped out and he followed closely. We walked into the outer room of my office where Jason and my secretary would work.

"This is Heather, my secretary. For the most part, you will work with her once I give your assignment for the day." I said, indicating the college age young woman who was my personal secretary.

"Hi." Jason said with a grin.

"Knock it off." I scolded him.

"Sorry."

"Follow me." I said as I opened the giant set of doors to my office. I walked across my office stiffly to my desk and took a seat. He sat down at one of the plush chairs that sat across from me.

"Computer: lock." I ordered. Instantly, a small beep confirmed my order.

"What was that for?" Jason asked in confusion.

"You need to explain to me why you lied to Batman."

"What?" he asked in surprise.

"Your mother has been dead for years and your father's been in prison since you were three. Why did you lie to Batman?" I grilled.

The look in his eyes was one of sadness and fear but also one of pride. I knew what he was thinking. The loss of his parents was obviously awful. However, in his mind, his ability to survive past their death meant that he could still make something of himself.

"I don't know, Mr. Wayne." he admitted softly. "I didn't want him to take me to child services."

"Your parents are gone regardless." I countered. "You didn't tell him that your parents were gone or that you had ran away from home. You told him they were dead."

"But if they were only dead last week, I thought that he might pity me and let me go."

Pity. It was something that neither Batman or Bruce Wayne knew. Not that he would have known that.

"Fine. Don't lie to him again though."

"Again?" he asked in shock.

"He wishes to see you again. The Batman is difficult to impress. However, he thinks that you show potential to replace his protege."

The look on his face was one of complete shock and wonder. It looked like I had just made his Christmases for his entire life.

"Are you serious? That's insane!"

"I've always thought that having a kid help you was insane." I lied. "However, that's not my decision. You will work with him on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday until school gets out. Then, once school is over, you will work here from 9-Noon and then you will work with the Batman at night."

"My foster family isn't going to let that happen." Jason replied sadly.

"That's why I've taken the liberty to have all of your things moved to my home." I informed him shortly as if I was simply telling him the time of day.

"What?" he yelled.

"Lower your voice." I said softly. "I have filed paperwork with the city to adopt you. I've been allowed to take you home this evening. You won't go back to your foster home."

The look on his face was priceless. If the news that he was going to be working with Batman was shocking, the fact that he had been adopted seemed to blow him away.

"I assume that this will be OK."

"Of course! I just have one question." he said, obviously trying to curtail his excitement.

"Yes?"

"How will I meet with Batman each night? I don't know where his headquarters are."

I had been wrestling with this all night. Do I trust this boy who has known nothing other than criminal activity his whole life with the greatest secret I've ever had? It took me months to trust Andi and just as long for Dick. However, this time, I'm literally bringing him in to be my protege. He needs to know.

"You'll walk downstairs." I said cryptically.

"Downstairs where?" he asked in confusion.

"Wayne Manor."

"Why would Batman have his headquarters under your house?"

This could be a long process. He was older than Dick was when he started, being nearly seventeen years old already. He wasn't nearly as strong or as athletic as Dick and nowhere near as intelligent. However, I think think that if I could tap into some of that fear and rage that he was feeling last night, then he could be very productive.

"Because I'm Batman." I replied shortly.

"Very funny, Mr. Wayne." he answered with a chuckle. "Really, why is Batman's base under your house?"

Ugh. No better way than just to show him. I leaned over to my phone, desperately trying to think of another way to do this.

"Heather, can you get a report on that LSI Holdings deal that we had going last month? I need to look at their numbers." I called into the speaker.

_"Right away, Mr. Wayne."_

I waited until I saw her in the elevator going down two floors to our extended file rooms before moving. Quickly, I stood up and lifted my foot onto the desk.

"I know that you remember where exactly I got shot last night." I said as I lowered my sock to show the stitching that Alfred had done.

"Where was the other one?" he asked me in shock.

"My stomach. That one hurts pretty bad right now." I admitted to him.

"Oh my god, you're B-"

"Not now." I whispered as the elevator door on the other side of the doors to my office opened and Heather stepped out. She quickly opened the doors to my office and strode across the room confidently.

"Here you are, Mr. Wayne. Will you be needing anything else?" she said as she handed me the files.

"No, that will be all." I said dismissively. With that, she turned around and headed back to her desk. When I was sure that she was back at her seat, I took mine and gave Jason the most terrifying stare that I could.

"You will tell no one and I mean _no one _what I just told you. I will make sure that you spend the rest of your life in jail if you so much as get a ticket for jaywalking. _Am I being clear?" _I said, ending the sentence in my growl.

"Yes, sir." he said, physically retreating into his chair.

"Good." I replied, returning to my cheerfully, fake cover. "Now, here's your work for the rest of the day."

* * *

**December 15, 1998  
**

**2:31 AM  
**

**Batman  
**

This was as good a night as any to take Jason out with me for the first time. The kid had certainly earned it. He was everything I thought he would be and I mean everything. He was smart, not brilliant, but smart. He was a good fighter, a scrapper. He also worked much harder than I had expected. However, these things weren't without their opposites. He was often arrogant and stubborn, ignoring orders and choosing to change tactics during our many training sessions. He reminded me of a rough cut version of my previous partner.

Partner. That was a strange word. Dick had been right. For eighteen months, I hadn't seen him. However, since his departure, I had slowly realized that he may have been right about me, at least in a small way. No one, not even Dick, had worked for what I had worked for. So, in that regard, we were both right. I didn't think that there was anyone that was as good as me because there simply wasn't anyone as good as I am. Right or not, I knew that some things needed to change. So, rather than referring to Jason as my possible sidekick, he was a potential partner.\

"Jesus, it is cold out here." Jason said through shivers next to me.

_"Be quiet." _I replied harshly. _"If you expect to take your test next month, you need to be focusing more on what you need to be and not the temperature."_

"Sorry." he said softly.

For the last month, I had been bringing him with me for the first four hours of my patrols. During that time, he had been in charge of assessing every single situation that I was going to enter. Then, once I went in, he was to operate as both a lookout and backup. Only once had I actually called him in and he had done exactly what I had expected, he was a street kid after all. I had entered a penthouse in search of key files that could potentially convict some of Rupert Thorne's top men. My information told me that it had been empty. My information had been wrong.

Pinned down by gunfire, I called Jason in. Rather than using the ventilation for the more discrete entrance I had asked for, he had launched himself across the street and through the large windows, catching everyone in the room by surprise. Within seconds, he had cleared the room of every threat. While I had been pleased with his efficiency, I was upset with his decision to ignore my orders. However, that had only happened once.

_"What is the situation?" _

"It is pretty clean." Jason began as he looked through his infra-red binoculars. "Only two guys with guns and even then, I think they're only pistols. Three more men on the top but they just have knives and clubs."

_"Good."_

"Wait a minute." Jason said suddenly as I prepped to enter the bank across the street. The Union Bank of Gotham was a known mob bank and I was finally getting ready to hit it when there were men inside, cleaning the place out.

_"What is it?" _

"Someone just landed on the roof."

_"How?"_

"I'm not sure. I was watching and all of the sudden this guy just came flying from out of nowhere and flipped onto the roof."

_"Alright. I'm going in. Let me know if he moves."_

"He just moved."

_"Where?"_

"He went inside the bank and he is tearing the place apart." Jason said in shock.

Instantly, I launched myself off of the roof and fell down twenty stories to the roof of the bank. As I landed, I called out to Jason.

_"Status?"_

"Still kicking ass."

_"Good." _I replied before crawling into the open ventilation shaft that I'm sure this mystery man must have gone through. As I crawled in, I could hear gunshots coming from below me and knew that I needed to get out of this vent as quickly as I could. Taking my own advice, I crawled to the nearest vent and cut the screws off of it, letting it fall to the ground.

Once it hit, I followed it quickly and slid to the corner of the room. I watched as the mystery man continued his vicious assault on the room. He was swift and ruthless but incredibly powerful at the same time. I had to admit that I was impressed.

When the last man fell, I walked out of my hiding spot and walked to where he was.

_"Who are you?" _I growled, Batarang at the ready as I anticipated him running.

However, what he did was completely different. He simply turned around and faced me. He wore a black body-suit made of Lycra and Kevlar that was emblazoned with a blue bird on the front of it. On his face, he wore a large black mask that covered almost all of his face. In his hands, he carried two escrima sticks that appeared to have small electric chargers on each end.

"Batman, should have known." he said in a deep voice.

_"I'm not going to ask again." _

"You can't threaten me, Bats. I'm not afraid of you."

_"You should be." _I said as I launched myself towards him.

No one had ever been faster than me. Until now. Every other person I had ever fought would have already be down for the count. However, this man was different. As I dove for him, he performed a single front flip and jumped out of the way. I turned to face him, knowing that I was fighting someone who had been trained incredibly well. This would be interesting.

"You don't want to fight me." he said softly. "I don't care for you but I'm on your side."

_"I bet."_

Again, I launched myself at him. This time, however, I was ready. As he jumped out of the way, I grabbed his ankle and pulled, swinging him around like a human baseball bat and throwing him into the wally. He slammed into the wall hard. Again, he surprised me about quickly he got up. Suddenly, he brandished his sticks and came at me.

The speed of his attack was incredibly. While nowhere near as powerful as I was, he was much, much faster. Finally, one of the sticks broke through my defense and slammed right into my jaw, knocking me backwards. Instead of falling to the ground, I simply gathered myself and my momentum and that kept me on my feet.

_"Who are you?"_

"The name is Nightwing." he said shortly as he lowered his sticks. Something about him seemed familiar, I just couldn't place it. Suddenly, it hit me. I quickly drew a Batarang and threw it towards him. Rather than simply ducking it, he turned and ran. As he did, he bounced into a flip and then when he hit the floor again, he fired off the floor and performed a quadruple front flip. As he landed, he turned and looked at me with that same goofy grin that I remembered from all those years ago.

_"Robin?"_

"What took you so long, Bats?" he replied mockingly.

The man in front of me was my son, Dick Grayson. He looked phenomenal. During the time that I hadn't seen him, he had grown nearly two inches and gained twenty pounds in muscle. What had been a incredibly fit teenager and become a Olympic-level athlete. Dick was right and I was wrong. Someone was one my level and I was looking at him.

_"Come home."_

"I'll see you at the end of patrols." he said calmly, losing a little bit of the spark I had seen in him just moments before. Suddenly, he turned and jumped up into the ventilation again. By the time I got up onto the roof, he was gone.

I had trained him well.

* * *

**4:11 AM**

**The Batcave  
**

**Bruce Wayne  
**

"Computer, open file: Operation Bird-Down." I said as I sat down.

"Operation Bird-Down open." the computer replied.

"Change of status: Robin changed to Nightwing. Place him on the active list."

"Active list completed."

"Active list?" Jason asked as he began taking his uniform off.

"The active list is the list of any member of the Batman Family that is currently active. Dick has returned to active duty as Nightwing." I told him shortly.

"I thought you said that Dick betrayed you."

"Yeah." another voice rang out. "I thought you said that Dick betrayed you."

I turned and looked up at the top of the stairs to see Dick, standing in his civilian attire. He made his way slowly down the stairs until he reached the main floor. I stood up from where I was at and walked towards him. When we met at the bottom of the stairs, I noticed how much he had changed. He was my height now and while he didn't weigh nearly as much as I did, he was certainly much stronger than he had been before.

"Dick. Welcome home." I said to him sadly.

"Home?" Dick asked angrily. "Home, Bruce? This may be your home but it was simply where I lived! It was never home to me."

"Why?"

"Because you never let me feel like I was meant to be here. I was always your sidekick or your ward."

"Dick, you were never my ward."

Dick angrily stormed passed me and looked around. He began examining some of the new equipment when he noticed that Jason was still in the room. He quickly walked over to him.

"I'm sorry you had to be here for this. I'm Dick, by the way. You are?"

"Jason." he replied nervously. "Jason Todd."

"Nice to meet you." he said to his successor. "Now, do you mind if I talk to Bruce alone?"

"Nope. I'm going to bed." he said shortly before looking at me. "Night, Bruce."

"Goodnight, Jason." I said as I watched him run up the stairs to the rest of the house. Dick watched as he ran to the top and waited until the clock door was closed and locked before turning towards me.

"He's a good kid." Dick said.

"He's no Dick Grayson." I replied honestly.

"I'm sure you're selling him short."

"I'm not." I said quietly. "He's not a naturally fighter or detective. He's really had to work for what he has. He's getting much better, but he's still no Dick Grayson."

"Well, that doesn't matter anymore." Dick said as he began to march out. In that moment, I realized what I had missed out on.

"I'm sorry, Dick." I said, uttering the most painful sentence I had ever said in my entire life.

Dick stopped on the stairs and turned around slowly to me.

"You're sorry? That's great, Bruce." he replied, not doing much hide the scorn in his voice.

"I mean it, Dick. You were right. You should have been my partner. You really should have."

"Do you mean that?" Dick asked as he walked towards me.

"I do."

"Well, thanks, I guess." he said shortly.

"Please, just tell me how your life has been. I know you've been keeping touch with Alfred." I said as I offered him a chair at one of the tables.

"I've been fine." Dick said as he took his seat. "Two days after I left, I dropped out of the ROTC Program. I decided that I didn't want to be weighted down like that. Plus, I applied to Bludhaven College. Of course, I got in and I'm majoring in Economics."

"Economics? Really?" I asked in surprise.

"Yeah, I figured maybe one day when I'm done as a crimefighter, I'll have to find a real job." Dick replied, that ornery smile returning to his face.

"Well, you always know where you can find one."

"Good."

"Yeah, so I've been living in Bludhaven and doing some side work with the Titans."

"You were still working with the Teen Titans?"

The Teen Titans were a group of youthful heroes and sidekicks that had joined together to fight when the Justice League was captured by Darkseid. They continued to work together over the years and kept a rotating list of current and former members.

"Yeah, I don't anymore but up until about six months ago, I did. It was why I created Nightwing. For the most part, I had just been going to classes, living the college life. Then, one night, I got a call from Barbara."

"Barbara Gordon? You still see her?"

"Occasionally. She is going to Bludhaven too. Obviously, I wish I could see her more often but she's busy as hell and so I don't get to as often as I would like. Anyway, she called me and said that she had something to tell me."

"What was it?"

"Well, I went over there and she was in tears. I was there for nearly two hours before she said anything. I found out that she had nearly been raped by a senior behind one of the dorms. It was then that it hit me. I have these abilities. I have this training. I need to do something. So, I expanded Nightwing. I patrol in Bludhaven almost every night."

"Then, what were you doing in Gotham?" I asked him quickly.

"Those men are working with Blockbuster in Bludhaven. I followed them here to try and take them down."

"That's interesting. That bank is full of Maroni, Thorne and Falcone's money." I informed him.

"Wait, those three are working together. Why would they do that?"

"They aren't working together per se. However, they are pooling their money together to protect it easier from me."

"Really? That's fascinating." he said as he stood up. "I'll have to look into that on my end. I'm gonna go, Bruce."

"OK." I said as I followed him up the stairs. "Dick, I'm really sorry."

"I know, Bruce." he said softly as we reached the top.

"Does that mean you'll come back?"

Dick turned around and faced me as we reached the front door. The look on his face had completely changed from just a couple minutes ago. Instead of being happy and bright, he looked upset and downtrodden.

"No, Bruce, I'm not coming back."

"Why not?" I asked in confusion.

"I'm doing my own thing. Plus, I remember how you treated me. You may say that you're sorry and all that, but to be perfectly honest, I don't believe you. Tell your kid good luck." he said before turning around abruptly and opening the door. "I'll be in Gotham for the next few days. I'm sure I'll see you on patrols."

With that final farewell, he turned and left.

* * *

**December 23, 1998**

**11:56 PM**

**Batman**

A week after Dick's return, we had met up on patrols a few times. This night was one of those occurrences.

"Things have been quiet the last few nights." Nightwing said softly.

"No kidding." Jason replied next to me.

We were on the lookout for Blockbuster or any of the goons that Nightwing caught the other night or really anyone for that matter. Dick was right, things had been quiet recently.

Blockbuster was a man formerly known as Roland Desmond, despite the fact that he never went by that name now. He had been working for Thorne in Gotham City, forcing his younger brother to work for him under the influence of an untested steroid. When his brother died on one of the jobs that Desmond had given him, he went insane and tried the steroid. The result was remarkable. He was given immense strength at the expense of his intelligence.

So, Thorne or someone with funds at that level paid for him to be experimented on to try and regain some of that intelligence. They had been partially successful. He was no longer as strong as he had been but no longer was he as stupid as he had been. Unfortunately for him, he operated mostly in Bludhaven where Nightwing was planning on operating full time once he solved this case. His strength wouldn't be effective against him and he certainly was nowhere near as brilliant as my protege.

_"Blockbuster isn't one for theatricality. He's just hiding."_

"We don't know that." Nightwing replied. "He could be planning something under the orders of Thorne or whoever hired him."

"Or he could be living in an apartment complex outside of town."

We all turned around to see a young woman, no older than Dick, standing behind us. She was wearing a black spandex suit with a purple cape. Her cowl was crudely cut out of leather and covered three quarters of her face. However, her cowl couldn't contain some of her fire engine red hair.

Great. This is exactly what I needed. Some other person trying to help me.

_"Who are you?"_

"The name is Batgirl." she said confidently.

_"I notice you don't have any Bat symbol on you."_

"I haven't earned it yet." she said shortly.

_"And you won't."_

"Why don't you give her a shot?" Nightwing said from across the roof of the building are one. While Jason and I had been on the ready since "Batgirl" showed up, Nightwing had been slowly approaching her.

_"Why would I do that?"_

"She thinks she's a member of the Bat Family. See if she can do it." Nightwing replied with a smirk. Something about his whole demeanor right now didn't sit right with me. It sounded like he either knew her or had a good idea and he certainly wasn't sharing with me.

_"Fine." _I growled. _"You've got one chance. If you fall behind at all tonight, get in our way or ignore a command from myself or Nightwing, that's it."_

"Sounds good." she replied with that same smirk that Nightwing had just used. What was I getting myself into?

I turned around and reached down to my utility belt where I turned on my police scanner. I listened for a couple minutes while I noticed Jason, Nightwing, and Batgirl had come to the edge of the apartment building we were on to wait. W

We didn't have to wait long.

_"We have a 2-1-1-S at The First Bank of Gotham. Crime in progress. Assailant appears to be alone, female, age 30-35, wearing a skin tight suit of some kind."_

"2-1-1-S?" Jason asked.

"Silent burglary alarm." Batgirl replied before I could.

_"She's right." _I admitted. _"We'd better get going. The First Bank is all the way across town."_

The moment the words were out of my mouth, I turned and ran. While normally I would have jumped down in the Batmobile, the fact that there were four of us made that impossible. So, we sprinted across the rooftops. The First Bank was in Park Row, two and a half miles away. It was going to take us nearly fifteen minutes to get there this way. We would have to hurry if we hoped to stop her.

* * *

**12:17 AM**

**Batman**

As we approached the Bank, it was surrounded by cops. I immediately spotted Gordon and chose to jump off the nearest building and fall into a spot just behind him. Deciding quickly, I launched myself from the roof and glided quickly towards him. Once I was almost directly over top of him, I released my cape and dropped in behind him.

_"Gordon."_

Over the years, his reactions had varied. Tonight, there was no movement. He simply turned around and addressed me.

"What took you so long?"

_"I'll explain later. What's the situation?"_

"Cat burglar. There are two Egyptian carvings of the god Bastet in the main vault."

_"The feline protector of the Egyptian Empire. Sounds like a feline obsession."_

"I would say so."

I lifted my hand to my ear and pressed down on the button hidden inside my cowl that turned on my microphone that went to Jason.

_"Create a perimeter, evenly spaced. I'm going in. Follow in five minutes."_

"Who are you talking to?" Gordon asked in surprise.

_"I'll explain later." _I said before pulling out my grapnel and aiming it towards the roof of the Bank. With one shot, it grabbed hold of the sign on the roof and instantly pulled me off my feet towards the roof.

The moment I was up there, Jason spoke into the microphone.

"Perimeter secure. Nightwing is northeast of bank, Batgirl is west and I'm southeast."

Triangle perimeter. Jason set it up nicely.

_"Good. Check in five. If I don't reply, come in."_

I found the nearest ventilation panel and tore it off the vent. Quickly, I dropped myself down the vent and hit the panel at the bottom of the shaft. With a loud clang, I broke through it and fell to the floor of the top floor of the bank. Hopefully, she was so focused on her vault that she wouldn't hear that.

I ran to the elevator and pried open the elevator. Once I was inside, I dropped myself down on top of the elevator on the first floor, a twenty-eight story drop. I landed safely and once I did, I reached for my belt and pulled out my metal cutter. As quickly as I could, I cut my way through the roof of the elevator. Once I had made a whole big enough for me to fall through, I jumped inside and proceeded to pry the door open again, doing all of this as silently as I could.

Once I was through, I silently made my way towards the main vault. Sure enough, when I got there, a woman roughly my age sat in front of the vault, welding her way through the lock.

_"You should have worked quicker." _I said from the shadows.

My words startled the woman. She nearly fell over and stood up, looking around for me frantically.

"Where are you?" she yelled.

_"What are you doing?"_

"What does it look like I'm doing?" she replied mockingly. "I'm stealing those carvings. How did you know that I was here?"

_"You set off a secondary silent alarm the moment you touched the vault."_

She continued to spin in circles obviously looking for the voice that didn't have a voice.

"That's not possible. I shut the power off to the building." she explained.

_"The vault in this building runs off a security generator housed in the basement. You should have planned better."_

Suddenly, my wrist vibrated. I looked down at the screen and noticed that the five minute timer I had set had expired. They were coming in. Deciding that I was done wasting time, I leapt down from my place in the rafters and fell directly in front of her.

The shock frightened her into action. He swung her left leg in a high-arching kick towards my head. I quickly grabbed it and simply through it back. Suddenly, I looked at the gloves she had been wearing. While the fingers were still available, they had claws on them. Sharp claws. With a ferocity that I hadn't expected, she swung these claws towards my midsection, clipping me and cut straight through my armor.

Suddenly, from behind me, a batarang hit her directly in the head. I turned and saw Jason, Nightwing, and Batgirl with Jason's hand outstretched in obvious follow-up to the Batarang he had just thrown. She stood up, bleeding from her forehead.

"Didn't realize that the Batman needed back-up." she quipped.

_"I don't. This just makes things easier. What is your name?"_

"The name is Catwoman. That's all you need to know." she said as she swung again.

This time, I wasn't playing around. I blocked her swipe and throw a powerful uppercut directly into her stomach. Instantly, she dropped to the floor, coughing and gasping for air. Once I was sure that she was down, I turned to Jason.

_"Call Gordon in. Then, the three of you get out of here. Go back to the Cave. **All of you.**" _I ordered, indicating that Batgirl needed to go back to the Cave.

Just as they took off, Gordon and about twenty cops came rushing in, guns drawn.

"Is she it?" she said, pointing his gun on the nearly unconcious person at my feet.

_"Yes." _I replied simply.

"Thanks." he said before looking up and noticing that I was gone.

* * *

**1:15 AM  
**

**The Batcave**

**Batman**

Forty minutes later, I pulled into the Batcave. Once the 'Mobile was parked, I jumped and and quickly approached the young woman know as Batgirl.

_"Take off your cowl." _

"What?" she exclaimed.

_"I will not allow you inside this cave without knowing who you are. I can train you to join us but only after I know who you are."_

"Fine. Don't get your panties all in a wad, Bruce." she said as she took of her cowl.

Now, I knew why Dick was smiling. Standing in front of me, clad in spandex, was Barbara Gordon. Slowly, I took off my own cowl and glared at her in the eyes.

"How long have you known?"

"About a month after Dick came to Hall. Dad's work with you guys came home a lot and he let me look over things occasionally. The financial burden of being Batman meant that he had to be rich or know someone who was rich. But, the addition of Robin made me certain that it was you two."

"What makes you think you can join us?"

"I've been training for years. I've been taking self-defense classes since I was six and gymnastics since I was five. I'm majoring in Forensic Science in GSU. I know I'm inexperienced but I also know that I can learn."

"Why do you want to help?" I questioned her.

"I've wanted to help you since you first showed up in Gotham. My dad talks about you a lot and I knew that he would never hire me as a Gotham cop so I just figured I should help you."

"Your father. We need to talk about that. How are you going to keep this from him?"

"Well, I don't live with him anymore. I moved into an apartment near campus last month. Also, my dad is a newly reinstated commissioner with a new girlfriend in a city where The Joker is still on the loose and you operate. He won't even notice."

Since when did my crusade for justice attract so many people? However, over the years, I had come to the realization. It was simply impossible for me to do this by myself.

"Here's how this will work. When Dick is in town, the two of you will work together. I trust that will not be a problem?" I said, noticing the large smile on both of their faces. God, I hope I'm not making a mistake.

"That's fine, Bruce." Dick replied.

"OK. When he isn't in town, you will patrol with myself and Jason. You will be given your own patrols when you prove to me that you have the stamina to do this. We meet here for patrols at 8 PM each night."

"Sounds good." she replied.

I stepped forward and extended my hand. "Welcome to the Family."

She took my hand and shook it fervently.

"Thanks for having me."


	15. Part 5: Breaking the Bad News

**December 31, 1999**

**7:11 PM  
**

**Gotham City  
**

**Dick Grayson  
**

I had been around Gotham a few times since showing myself to Bruce as my new alter ego, Nightwing. However, tonight was New Year's Eve and I wasn't parading around town in tights, at least not yet. Instead, I had been called, not by Bruce, but by his newest protege, Jason Todd. I had met Jason a few weeks ago when I had returned to Gotham for the first time. He seemed like a nice enough kid, although if I had to be honest, I knew that he wasn't nearly as good as I was.

But, that wasn't as big a deal as to why he called me two days ago, asking me to meet him before patrols. Normally, I didn't go to the Cave before patrols, choosing to go to Barbara's apartment instead. Not living in Gotham meant that when I did choose to return to the city, I had to find alternative housing and Barbara had been kind enough to comply.

But tonight I would go to the Manor to meet with the kid. I pulled up the main drive of the Manor in my 1994 Ford Taurus as I watched Alfred Pennyworth step outside the front door. As I parked he approached the car door and opened it.

"Master Grayson." he said respectfully as I stepped out of the vehicle.

"You didn't need to do that, Al."

"I beg to differ, Master Dick." he replied as I shut the door and walked towards the front door. "Now, I believe that Master Todd is in the sitting room."

"Which one?" I said with a smirk.

"The front one." he said as he pulled the door open for me.

"Thanks." I replied to him before turning away and marching towards the front room. As I did, I still wondered what he wanted to see me about. When I walked in, he was sitting in Bruce's biggest chair looking at the painting of Thomas and Martha Wayne over the fireplace.

"You look like Bruce sitting there like that." I said as I walked in.

Suddenly, he turned in shock.

"Dick. I didn't expect you to come." he said as he turned the chair towards the couch where I sat.

"Why wouldn't I?"

"I'm not sure. I just didn't think you would." he admitted softly.

"So what's on your mind?"

"Well, there are two things. The first one is easier."

"OK." I replied.

"The Joker." he said simply.

Wow. If there was anything that I thought he was going to want to talk about, it certainly wasn't this. The Joker had been noticeably dormant for the last few months.

"What do you want to know?"

"Bruce's files say that he killed your parents. Is that true?"

"Yes. He killed them while we were performing in Gotham. That's why Bruce ended up making me his ward."

"You mean he adopted you."

"No. He was awarded me by the state to care for me."

"That's not what your file says." Jason told me softly.

"What do you mean?"

"When I got access to Bruce's computer, I researched you. It says that you are legally his son."

My brain had stopped working. I was legally Bruce's son. That couldn't be right. If it was, why had he never told me? I couldn't worry about that right now.

"I can talk to him about that later. What's your question?"

Jason took a deep breath.

"Why isn't he dead?"

"What do you mean?"

"He killed your parents and he's tried to kill a ton of other people. Why isn't he dead?"

"By whom?"

"By us." Jason replied firmly.

"Jason, you know the rules."

"I know the rules." Jason replied strongly. "I think they're horseshit."

"You know that I thought the same thing. But after awhile, I understand what Bruce is talking about. If we kill, we don't become any better than just murderers."

"What about equal punishment? These guys kill fifteen people, they go to jail for "life?" How does that work?"

"It works because we already work outside of the system. But the criminals we catch still should atone for their crimes, but not from us. We aren't judges."

Jason stood up and began pacing the room.

"What was your other question?"

"What happens if I kill?"

This line of questioning was starting to scare me. I didn't even want to think of what would happen to him if he did kill, even accidentally.

"You would be removed as Robin."

"I'm not Robin. Not yet."

"Why are you asking me these questions?" I asked him fearfully.

"I found out that Joker's crew was responsible for my father's death in prison last week. They were killed under his orders."

"Does Bruce know?"

Jason slowly nodded his head in confirmation as he sat back down in the chair.

"He knows. He told me to forget about it."

"When was the last time you saw your father?"

"I visit him every week. I saw him on Wednesday of last week." Jason said, tears forming in his eyes. "He was talking about his upcoming parole hearing. He thought he actually had a chance of getting out."

"Wow. That's horrible." I said. "Jason, why are you asking?"

"Because I'm having a lot of trouble not racing out into the city and killing the Joker."

"Jason..."

"Dick, what happened to them?" he said, pointing to the painting of Thomas and Martha Wayne.

"Why does it matter?"

"I want to know."

"You mean to tell me that you've done all that research on me and you don't know what happened?" I asked in surprise.

"I tried. The files are locked."

Ah. Here comes Bruce's overwhelming secrecy. Always hiding behind something.

"Well that certainly doesn't surprise me." I replied.

"Really Dick, what happened?" he asked again.

Man, I never thought I would have to tell him this story. Or anyone really. My thought had always been that Bruce would have told him. However, I couldn't say that I was surprised that Bruce hid the truth from his newest protege. He probably thought that I knew too much to quickly and that's why I had rebelled.

"When Bruce was young, his parents took him to the movies. After the movie, they were on their way to where Alfred was going to pick them up when a man pulled a gun on them. He asked for the usual, wallets and jewelry. Thomas handed his wallet over to the man. However, Martha had a pearl necklace on that she hadn't given to him. He turned his gun on her and started ordering her to give up the necklace."

"Wow. What happened next?"

Suddenly, a much more powerful voice than mine answered.

"Thomas Wayne stepped in front of Martha, trying to protect her." Bruce said as he walked into the room and sat next to me. "When he did that, the mugger lost his cool and shot my father in the chest. At the sound of the gunshot, my mother panicked, screaming his name. To silence her, Joe Chill shot her to."

"Oh my god." Jason said with a horrified look on his face.

"My mother died instantly. However, my father held on long enough to give me on final sentiment: don't be afraid. Then, his eyes went blank and his head slumped to the side."

"I can't believe that."

"I didn't listen." Bruce admitted. "For years, I fought and worked my way to the top, driving myself to become better than anyone. However, I've always had that fear. It's what let me to suspend Dick when he got seriously injured for the first time."

"How did you get rid of it?"

"I don't think I have, to be perfectly honest." Bruce admitted again. "I'm not sure I ever will. But, I know that all I can do is keep trying."

"Either that or just starting drinking a lot." I replied with a usual wit.

"Very funny." Bruce replied before turning to Jason. "Go to the Cave and pull up every file that we have on the arsons. We'll be looking at that tonight."

"OK." Jason replied before hopping out of his chair and leaving the room. Once he was gone, Bruce turned to me.

"Are you going to be patrolling in the city tonight?"

"Yeah. Why?" I asked.

"I'm changing the test. I want him to find you."

"Really? That could get interesting."

"That's the point. You and I will be following up on these arsons and his only task will be to find you. Hopefully, we find the arsonist and he finds you."

"How easy do I make it?" I asked.

"Not at all. Move as quickly as you can. And he can't just see you, he's going to have to put a tracer on you."

"I like this."

"I thought you would." Bruce replied with a rare smile. "Go get suited up."

"Alright." I said as I stood up and made my way out of the room. Suddenly, I turned back to Bruce. "How much of the conversation did you hear?"

"I just heard him ask you what happened to them. That's what he asked you to talk about right."

What do I tell him? Do I tell him about Jason's confidential? Do I tell him that he's considering running out into the night after the homicidal clown that killed my family?

"Yeah." I lied. "That's exactly what he wanted to talk about."

* * *

**9:21 PM**

**Gotham City Police Headquarters  
**

**Nightwing  
**

I had been out on the town for about an hour now and decided I should probably do the first thing that Batman had ordered me to do: meet with Gordon. So, I made my way across the rooftops of Gotham City back to the outskirts of downtown where the GCPD Headquarters were located. After looping the video in Gordon's office, I snuck into the top window in the building, home to Gordon's office.**  
**

He was seated at his desk, looking over just the files that I wanted him to.

"Find anything?" I asked him, trying to scare him.

"You aren't quite as good as that as he is." Gordon replied without looking up. "I heard the window creak when you opened it."

"Damn." I cursed him. "Any word on the fires?"

"Two warehouses since Friday. Fires lit with aluminum powder mixed with potassium nitrate. That matches the other three."

"Do you find it strange that they only happen on weekends?" I asked him.

"I've noticed it." Gordon replied, finally looking at me. "What do you think?"

"Aluminum powder and potassium nitrate are commonly used in movies to create explosions. Movie studios tend to shoot four days a week and depending on the studio, Friday may be their day off."

"So we could be looking at a movie worker?"

"Yeah. What are the names of the warehouses that he's gotten?" I asked him, pulling out the new Palm Pilot that Batman and I have started using recently.

"This weekend, it was ones owned by Oxley Pharmaceuticals. The other three were owned by Connelly Film, Buckner Financial Group, and NewEffects, owned by Jim Henry. You know him?"

"One of Gotham's wealthiest. Media mogul who owns his own film, music, and newspaper companies."

"Correct. The other three are fairly easy to connect. Connelly Film is bankrolled by Buckner Finance and they often use NewEffects for their special effects. However, I don't understand the connection to Oxley."

As he spoke, I linked into the Bat Computer from the Pilot and started scanning connections. Finally, after a couple of minutes, I found something.

"Oxley and Henry were college roommates at New York University back when they were in school. Oxley is often one of the highest contributors to Buckner and Connelly."

"So is that the connection?" Gordon asked as I saw him eye the Pilot in my hand.

"I don't think so. These feel personal."

"I agree." he said as he stood up and moved to a board that had a map of town. On the map, there were marks of the five warehouses that had been burned to the ground in the last two weekends. They were all over the harbor with no apparent pattern. "Is there someone else?"

"I'm not sure." I replied. "It's possible."

Again, I went back to the PDA, researching news stories from the last few years. Suddenly, something of incredibly interest came up.

"Garfield Lynns. Heard of him?" I asked.

"No." Gordon replied without turning away from the board.

"He was fired from NewEffects ten months ago."

"OK?" he said, turning around and facing me. "What does that have to do with this?"

"Lynns was the head pyrotechnics technician at NewEffects until then. Suddenly, he was fired and replaced by Antonio De Rosa II, son of Tony De Rosa, the best friend of Joseph Connelly and one of the top stock brokers in the country. Lynns filed a wrongful termination suit against Henry but it was declined last month after Judge Faden determined that his contract didn't stipulate under what circumstances would be considered wrongful."

"Would Lynns be able to get ahold of these materials?" Gordon asked.

"They're fairly easy to get. But, they're expensive and we have no idea how much it would cost to get them."

"OK." Gordon said as he sat back down at his desk. "Where are you going to look first?"

This time, he didn't notice that I had already slipped out of that squeaky window.

* * *

**January 1, 1999  
**

**12:06 AM  
**

**Batman  
**

**Wayne Tower  
**

_"They're fairly easy to get. But, they're expensive and we have no idea how much it would cost to get them."  
_

Dick's voice spoke into my ear as I stood in the cold as driving snow on the very top of the building I owned. The headsets that Dick, Barbara, Jason, and I wore could all be linked up at any particular time. However, while they could only access them, I could turn their microphones on at any point and listen to their conversations. It allowed me to keep tabs on my proteges at any point. I listened to them so that I could get to work on what they were doing faster. It allowed me to cut out the briefing time.

_"I have information on those fires."_

_"I heard."_ I growled into the microphone.

_"Damn. Listening again?"_

_"Always."  
_

_"Great. Where are you going?"  
_

_"Lynns' apartment. Take Batgirl with you and check the burn sites. I'll let you know if I find anything."  
_

_"OK. Nightwing, out."_

I flicked the switch on the radio, shutting my microphone off when I heard a small shift behind me. I quickly whipped around, Batarang in hand, to notice a seventeen year old, dressed in body armor and a cape, diving off the other side of the Wayne Tower roof. Jason had heard me tell Nightwing where he was going to go. He certainly was learning. Hopefully, he would find Nightwing and Batgirl within the hour.

Ignoring Jason, I turned back towards the city and withdrew my Palm Pilot. While Dick's version only attached to the Batcave's computer, mine was attached to both his and the Batcave's, allowing me to easily connect to the information he had just pulled up without having to search for it again.

Instantly, I pulled up the file on Garfield Lynns, which included his address. I noticed that it was fairly close to the docks. Obviously, if he was the culprit behind these warehouse fires, he was a relatively new criminal. He utilized materials that would be suspected of someone working at a movie company, he had just been fired from his job, and he lived incredibly close to the warehouses he burned down, which were all owned by people that supported the company he worked for. These couldn't be signs of someone who had been planning these jobs for a long time.

Once I was done figuring out my heading, I turned and sprinted off the side of the building. After forty minutes of sprinting across town, I reached the apartment building that Lynns lived in. When I got there, I grabbed the UV/Night Vision goggles that I hid within my cape and pointed them across the street, aiming them at the apartment that Lynns inhabited. With a quick scan of the apartment, I saw that no one was home and after putting my goggles away, I glided across the street and landed on the balcony.

With a quick check, I noticed that the sliding glass door was unlocked. Opening it quickly, I stepped inside. Once I was inside, I saw that Lynns was definitely our target. There were crates of aluminum powder and three barrels of gasoline and another of the potassium nitrate. On the wall, there were two things that got my interest. First, there was a large collection of pictures of fires. Some were simply of bonfires, the others were of large buildings on fire. However, it was the other item that really got my attention. There was a map of Gotham City with various buildings around the harbor circled. Five of the buildings had an X over them and I knew from their location that they had to be the buildings that this man had already burned down. The others had dates around them and one of them even had today's date on it.

_"Nightwing, come in. I'm at Lynns' apartment. He has buildings around the harbor marked. The warehouse for Harrington Multimedia has been marked for tonight."  
_

_"Oh, so that's why it's on fire."  
_

Damn. I was too late. I sprinted out of the room and out of the balcony. If I hurried, I could be at the warehouse in ten minutes.

* * *

**1:02 AM**

It had taken me twelve minutes. By the time I had gotten there, the building was completely engulfed in flames. However, this time, I wasn't watching the fire itself. From those pictures on the wall of Lynns' apartment, I had gotten the understanding that he didn't simply catch the buildings on fire for revenge. Instead, he also caught them on fire because he was a pyromaniac. Pyromania would control him. Lynns would also need to be somewhere in the area, watching his handiwork. Simply lighting a building on fire wasn't going to do it for him, he was going to have to watch.

So, instead of watching the building behind me burn, I watched the tops of the buildings around me, waiting for movement. I shut my headset off in order to concentrate. I waited for several minutes as the snowstorm that was supposed to blanket the city began to pick up. Within just a couple of seconds, all I could see what white. In response, I reached down to my utility belt and activated my new cowl lenses.

These lenses, inserted into the cowl, served a few purposes. First, they were completely reflective, meaning that no one could see through them. This feature blocked the common person from being able to see my eyes, further protecting my identity. Then, they also featured hands free UV/Night/Motion goggles that could be activated at any time. While I had been using my regular goggles for the most part, occasionally I switched to the lenses due to my ability to move and use them at the same time.

This was one of those times. As I looked across the rooftops, I saw heat rising from chimneys and heating vents all across the skyline. Suddenly, I saw something with a much lower heat signature stand up three buildings over. I moved quickly as I flicked off the lens, returning to my normal vision. The man that stood was definitely Lynns. He wore red metal body armor with what appeared to be either a gas tank or a jetpack on his back. Even from the distance, I could tell that he had something that had to be a flamethrower attached to each of his arms. He finished it off with a red glass mask that had the outline of some kind of bug on it.

A firebug, I could only assume. Suddenly, Lynns leapt off the side of the building he was on. Quickly, I flipped my headset back on and spoke up to Nightwing.

_"Nightwing."_

"What is it, big man?" Nightwing asked with his trademark humor.

_"I've spotted Lynns on the roof of a building opposite the warehouse. He just jumped off the building. I'm assuming he's running on foot. Open your Pilot and you'll see that I've marked his apartment. I want you and Batgirl to follow him."_

"Sounds good. What are you doing?"

_"Just do it." _I growled before hanging up. I didn't put up with his questions very often and I certainly wasn't in the mood to put up with it now. Instead of following Lynns, I leapt down from my perch and with a short glide, landed behind Gordon.

_"Forensics in yet?" _I asked abruptly.

"Nope." he replied without even looking away from the building. He certainly was getting more used to my interruptions.

_"How long do we have?"_

"The fire chief said that this fire is still at 2-alarm. It will be another hour before we can go through and determined what caused it."

_"We know what caused it. We just need proof."_

__"Once you suspected Lynns, I got a judge to sign a search warrant for his apartment. Officers will be there in five minutes. What will they find?"

_"What you need." _I replied before disappearing into the night.

* * *

**1:23 AM**

**Nightwing  
**

****I had been following this flame retardant nutjob for twenty minutes. I was lucky that I still had him where I could see him. The use of his jetpack and the continual use of grenades and flamethrowers meant that I couldn't get close enough to get a tracker on him. On the two occasions that Batgirl had tried to sneak around him to get in front of him, he had seen her and nearly burnt her alive. It was only her quick reflexes that kept her from turning extra crispy.

Finally, Lynns stopped the chase on a wide rooftop near the outskirts of downtown. Batgirl and I made our way to the opposite sides of him, doing our best to keep his attention divided.

"Give it up, Lynns." I ordered firmly.

"The name is Firefly, you little punk." he cried in a surprisingly firm voice. For some reason, I had expected a much weaker voice to come from his slight frame. Instead, his voice resonated deep into my toes. Something about that made me nervous.

"Don't make us ask you again." Batgirl added to my previous command.

In a flash, Firefly turned towards Batgirl, raising his right hand towards her.

"Listen, Bat-bitch, no one orders me around. I ORDER THEM!" he screamed before flipping back towards me and unleashing a hellfire blast from his left hand. Thinking quickly, I dove out of the way and reached into my belt for a WingDing, my own personal version of Batman's Batarang. Unfortunately, before I could get to it, another wave of heat reached me. This time, I didn't move as quickly. I felt the rush of fire wrap around me before I was able to convince myself to move.

Finishing my roll, I made my way to get up when an intense wave of pain rocked my body, sending me back to the pavement of the roof. I looked down to see that most of my suit was completely blackened and burned. What skin I could see was red at the least and that was only a small part of it. The rest of it was black and open. I knew I was in a bad way and I certainly needed help.

Struggling through the pain, I looked up to see Batgirl, fighting Firefly one-on-one. She dodged over numerous levels of flames as she weaved closer and closer to him. I knew that she needed to end things as quickly as she could. Lynns was obviously very good at controlling the fire that he created and I knew that eventually, she would be too slow.

That's when a voice spoke up behind me.

"I'll get with you in a second."

Suddenly, Jason came flying out of nowhere and charged directly at Firefly. As he did, I thought about the situation at hand. I had been injured before and I had even been at the mercy of some of Gotham's worst. Killer Croc had fractured three of my ribs at one point and The Riddler had kidnapped me and put me in the middle of one of his mind games. Thankfully, that meant that this wasn't my first time of desperately needing help because before today, it never came. One month ago, if this would have happened, I would be dead. Now, both Barbara and Jason were here to save me, much like I had been there to save Bruce from Mr. Freeze.

Jason ducked under a single blast of fire before reaching Firefly. The distraction of both of them had become too much, probably due to the surprise of Jason's arrival. Once he reached the pyro, he pulled the wires out of the gas tank attached to Firefly's back. Gas spewed from the tubes as they fell to the ground. As it fell, it crossed in front of one of the remaining streams of fire. In the blink of an eye, the fire traveled back up the stream of gas and into the tank.

Suddenly, the tank on the back of Firefly exploded, knocking me off the side of the building onto the fire escape below. The last thing I remember before passing out from the pain was the sight of two others jumping off the roof with another man in tow.

* * *

**5:57 AM**

****I woke up in the medical bay of the Batcave, a strangely familiar setting.

"You suffered mostly second degree burns with a few third degree where the fire hit you directly."

I looked down towards my feet to see Bruce standing there. He had removed his cowl and his gauntlets but largely remained in his suit. This meant that he had only been home recently. A look across the bay to a clock on the wall said that it was almost 6. It had been a late night.

"How long will I be out?" I asked with effort. It certainly hurt to talk. I'm sure that over the next few days it would hurt to do a lot.

"Awhile." Bruce replied softly before making his way towards me. "However, I do have something I would ask you to do."

"What?"

"Break the bad news." he said as he laid something down on my legs before turning away. With great pain, I rose from my position and saw what was laying on my legs: my old Robin body armor.

He found me. He had won.

Looks like there was going to be a new Robin in town.


	16. Part 5: A Short Time Coming

**January 11, 2001**

**10:02 PM**

**Gotham City**

**Robin**

"How's the view?" Nightwing said into his microphone to me.

"Peachy." I grumbled back lowly.

"Hey, we need a lookout." Batgirl replied.

"Get Superman to do it." I replied roughly. "I should be in there with you guys."

For the last year, I had been Robin. However, unlike the last time there had been a Robin, I wasn't the only sidekick to The Caped Crusader. Now, he had Batgirl and Nightwing with him too. They were both older and more experienced than I was, which led to me being used as a spotter more often than either of them had ever been.

_"Quit complaining." _Batman said from behind me. _"He's in there with half an army. We can't afford to go in blind."_

"Why can't we case the place and then all go in together?"

_"What happens if something changes between then and now. We can't afford to have that happen."_

"He can't be that dangerous, can he?" I asked him.

_"You have no idea."_

I turned to see that Batman had vanished from sight, something that he did to everyone. Unable to convince him otherwise, I turned back to the warehouse and pulled up my binoculars.

"Any sign of him?" Nightwing asked.

"Negative." I replied. "Going to thermal."

Instantly, I flipped a switch on my binoculars, changing from regular vision to heat vision. The place was lit up in a variety of colors, each indicating a particular heating level.

_"What do you see?"_

As I scanned the building, I noticed a large group of men congregating near the main office at the top of the warehouse. The office windows overlooked the harbor on one side and downtown on the other. Quickly, I pocketed my binoculars and with a flash, I shot a line to the other side of the warehouse. The grapnel quickly pulled him across and now I had a perfect view of the men inside the office.

Sure enough, one of them had white face paint and the most hideous purple jacket you had ever seen.

"Visual confirmation." I barked into my microphone. "Joker is inside."

"Fantastic." Nightwing called out.

_"Top floor?" _

"Yes." I answered. "The room that he's in is mostly empty. Only three guards."

"That's not bad." Batgirl replied.

"No, but I'm counting over forty men in the rest of the warehouse."

_"That won't be a problem." _Batman answered. _"I just talked to Gordon. The power is going to shut off in the building in five minutes. When that happens, Nightwing, you're on the north entrance and Batgirl, you hit the south. I will enter the second floor through the west windows and make my way up. Nightwing and Batgirl, your job is to disable as many of the men downstairs as you can before moving up to follow me."_

"What am I doing?" I asked.

_"Exactly what you're doing right now. If Joker moves, I want to know about it. If he leaves, meet up with me and we'll follow him together."_

"Fine."

I was getting sick and tired of being treated like a baby. Batman let Batgirl handle The Mad Hatter, a new criminal who was obsessed with Alice in Wonderland, all by herself last week. Nightwing didn't even act like a subordinate to Batman. He only took his orders in situations like this where someone had to be in charge. Personally, I thought that Batman had a little bit of an ego issue that he needed to work on and it was affecting my development into his top protege.

But, I knew that part of the reason I was on edge was that it was the Joker we were after. While I hadn't been particularly close to my father, due to his time spent in jail, I had been looking forward to getting to know him better. However, once the Joker ordered him dead, that possibility ended. Here I was, looking across the road, at the man who ordered the murder of my father and there was nothing I could do about it. Part of me thought that was the reason I was here instead of running in with Batman. He didn't trust me not to go off the deep end.

Well, I was going to show him wrong, just like I did every other time. Batman thought I wasn't as good as Nightwing had been. He was wrong. I liked Dick and he had helped me through a lot but he hadn't had it like I did. He'd had Bruce there to adopt him. He didn't live on the streets when his mother couldn't pay the bills. For god's sake, he'd had a butler for most of his childhood! He didn't need to be Robin, he chose it. I _needed _it and come hell or high water, I was going to prove to Bruce that he had made the right decision.

I reached into my pocket and withdrew a spy mic, a new piece in my arsenal. It could be fired using my grapnel gun and it would stick to a wall. From there, I could listen in to any conversation that the mic would pick up.

Removing the end of my grapnel, I placed the mic inside the pistol it came in and fired it across the way, hitting a point just inches from the window where Joker sat. If he heard it, he gave no mind to it. Once I was sure that it was in place, I grabbed my Palm Pilot and turned the signal to the mic. Since the mic was outside, I had to crank it up to hear anything. Finally, I was able to get it so that I could hear the conversation going on inside his room.

_"...boss, lookout says that Gordon is outside..."_

_"...so?..." _he heard the Joker cackle.

_"...well, what are we gonna do?..."_

_"...don't you worry your pretty little head. I **always **have a plan..."_

_"...I know, boss. I just can't go back to jail..."_

_"...Why not? Are you afraid? Can't handle the heat? If not, there are ways around it..." _The Joker growled menacingly.

_"...No! I can definitely handle the heat. It's just that after what happened with Todd..."_

_"...Oh yes, Willy! Well, we needed to get him out of the way. I wouldn't have wanted Big Bad Harv to get ahold of him..."_

_"...I know. He would have turned us in. It's just that he was a pretty popular guy in Blackgate. They'd kill me if I went back..."_

I couldn't breath. I had ignored everything in the conversation after the mention of my father. I tried as much as I could to pull myself back but it couldn't be done. I would have to tell Batman afterwards that my father had wanted to talk to Dent. He would want to know that.

Slowly, I stood up and began pacing around the rooftop I occupied. I did everything that I could to stop myself. I set my grapnel down across the rooftop but nothing could be done. The power of my rage just couldn't be stopped. Suddenly, I raced back to the grapnel and picked it up. With trained precision, I fired it, burying it into the wall just above Joker's window.

With a running start, I leapt from the roof, allowing the grapnel to reel me in. Tucking, I crashed into the window and rolled once I hit the ground. The moment I was up, I struck one of the guards in the back of the tear, knocking him to the ground. With a turn, I punched another directly in the stomach. As I rolled off of that punch, I turned and hit the last guard directly in the forehead, knocking him out of the window and onto the awning below.

I knew there were only three guards and so I turned, ready to deck The Joker. However, just as I rotated to hit him, I turned a gun cock. Instantly, I stopped moving and then slowly stood up straight. Once I was upright, I found myself staring at the end of the barrel of a massive revolver.

The look on Joker's face was terrifying. He had never been this close to the madman before and instantly he had known that he had made a terrible decision.

"My we are in trouble, aren't we?" we growled. "Nighty-night, Bird Boy!"

Suddenly, something very solid hit me in the back of the head, forcing me to the ground. The last thing I remembered before passing out was the blood sticking to the side of my head as the maniacal madman roared with laughter.

* * *

**Batman**

_"Robin! Robin!" _I shouted into the mic after seeing Robin launch himself across the road and into a window. _"Robin! Respond!"_

Nothing.

_"Nightwing and Batgirl, pull back. Regroup at Robin's lookout."_

The moment I was done giving the orders, I sprinted across the rooftops near the Laughing Stock Inc. Warehouse we had been casing for the last two hours. Within a few moments, I was able to get to where Robin had been. Instantly, I looked up and saw my worst nightmare. Robin was draped over the shoulders of one of the massive bodyguards the Joker had employed, clearly unconscious.

Suddenly, my intercom came to life.

"Oh, this is gonna be fun!"

That voice. I quickly reached to the back of my belt and grabbed my binoculars. Bringing them to my eyes, I zoomed in on the room opposite me to see that The Joker had taken Jason's mic and was holding it up to his mouth.

_"Give him back." _I said as Nightwing and Batgirl jumped up onto the roof next to me.

"Oh, I don't think so! I'm having too much fun with the Boy Blunder already! No, instead, I think I'll just take him with me! Hoo hoo ha!" Joker cackled over the intercom.

Slowly, I started to reach for a tracer dart that I could fire at Jason. That reminded me that I needed to start equipping everything with a tracer on it. Just as a grabbed the tracer dart, a gun went off. Quickly, the three of us hit the deck. The moment I hit the ground, I looked up to see one of the Joker's henchman had a gun aimed directly at the ceiling of the room they were holed up in.

Just as I started to get up, my intercom lit up.

"No, no, nooooo, Batty! I don't think so!" Joker squealed. "In fact, I think we're gonna play a little game! I'm going to take the Wounded Wing here and go home! And you, little Bat, will _**not**_follow me! Because if even catch a hint of Bat Breath, little Robin here is going to lose all of his fingernails."

_"What do you want?"_

"Want?" came Joker's incredulous cry. "What do I _want? _I don't want anything! I just want to play! And we're gonna play! In twelve hours, Channel 12 is gonna get one funny video! From then, you will have twelve hours to find your partner here! Let's just say that if you don't find him, it's going to be a sticky end for the little birdie here! And don't even think about following me! If I smell Bat or Bird Breath, I'm afraid that one of my guards here may slip and this little bird would end up as the Wingless Wonder!"

Rage blinded me as I backed away from the window, knowing that I was cornered and had no other choice. All I wanted to do was jump across the street and beat that clown to within an inch of his life. However, I knew that there would no way to stop him from killing Robin before I got there.

_"I will find him." _I growled back at The Joker. _"I will find **you**."_

* * *

**10:01 AM**

**Dick Grayson**

**Wayne Manor**

Twelve hours later, after watching Bruce tear through hours of thugs who had been helpless to defend themselves from the rage of the Caped Crusader, we sat in front of the TV, waiting for the news. Sure enough, the first story on Channel 12's 10AM News was that they had received a video from the Clown Prince of Crime.

"I warn you." the news anchor said softly. "The images you are about to see are incredibly disturbing."

The moment the words left her lips, the image changed. Now, the scene was what appeared to be in the office of a skyscraper with the image of the early morning sun blazing into the camera. The only thing in the scene was an empty chair. The second I saw it, I worried about what would fill it, knowing the answer somewhere on the inside.

Suddenly, the answer to my question appeared. A drugged Robin was thrown into the chair by two of the Joker's henchmen. His armor was torn from what appeared to be several beatings already. His mask was peeling at the corner and I was worried that with a single wrong move, it would fall off revealing his identity.

As I stared at the bruises and marks on Jason's body, I didn't even notice Joker was in directly behind him.

"Gotham City, I believe that I have found the Boy Wonder, Robin." he said solemnly with an evil grin that betrayed his voice. "You see, he made an attempt on my life last night. Now the rest of the world or, "normal people" as you call them, would probably turn him over to the police to be prosecuted. Now, do you know what the only problem with that is?"_  
_

In a flash, Joker withdrew a knife and slammed it into Jason's hand. Jason barely registered the pain and a mild grunt escaped his lips.

**"I'm anything but normal!"** Joker growled menacingly. "Now, Batman, my dearest friend, you are probably wondering what you can do to get this little cupcake back? Well, to answer your question, we're going to have ourselves a little scavenger hunt!"

I looked across the room to see Bruce's knuckles tighten against the arms of the chair that he was seated in. I had seen Bruce upset and even angry but this was beyond anything that I had ever seen.

"All across our corrupt city, I have left you clues! I've seen my pally Eddie do this to you over the years and it looked _awful _fun, so I thought that I would give it a try! Hooo!" Joker giggled as he reached down and grabbed the knife, twisting it in Jason's hand. "Batman, if you want your Boy Blunder back, you are going to have to get moving to your first location, the spot where you and I first met. I only have one question for you?"

Quickly, Joker walked around Jason and sat down on his lap, withdrawing the knife from his left hand before taking it and slamming it into Jason's right.

"How does a bat operate during the day?"

Seconds after his last line, the video returned to the news desk. However, none of us had interest in that anymore. We all looked at Bruce, who appeared to be on the verge of passing out because he was gripping the arms of his chair so hard.

"Bruce..."

Instantly, the wood in the arm of the chair cracked under Bruce's grip as he stood up and faced the rest of us.

"Barbara, I want you working the computers all day. I'll have Dick and I wear our comlinks so you can communicate with us and we can use your abilities to do whatever is going to require of us."

"What are we going to wear?" I asked Bruce. "Costumes?"

"Sort of, actually." Bruce replied. "I have two matching bike suits with helmets. All black. I've managed to procure two Kawasaki Ninja ZX-12R. Also, all black and souped-up to the top of the line. But, it's the helmets that are the key. They have a HUD system with a full link to our comlinks and a minor link to the computer. Basically, if it's active on the desktop, you can bring it up via voice command."

"Nice. Going for a stealthy look today, huh?" I joked.

"Look, yes. Actions, no. The first place I'm going before I head to Axis is Gordon's office. I need him to know that we are out and that we can't be stopped."

"Sounds good. By the way, what call signs do we use today?"

"Blackbird." he replied, pointing at himself. "Redbird."

"Nice." Barbara replied next to us. "What am I?"

"Oracle." I said suddenly with a uncomfortable giggle.

"Oracle?" she asked.

"The Oracle of Delphi was used as a source of information in Ancient Greece." I replied. "You're our source of information. Thus, our Oracle."

"I like it." she replied before turning back to Bruce. "Get moving, will ya?"

_"Right." _he replied, using his "Blackbird" voice. _"Let's move."_

* * *

**10:45 AM**

**GCPD Headquarters**

**Bruce "Blackbird" Wayne**

"Why no Batman?" Gordon said as he approached the Bat Signal on top of the building. I couldn't remember the last time that I had seen Jim Gordon during the daylight. It had been a long time. In this kind of light, I could see better the strain of his job on his face. His hair was almost completely grey going on white and there were permanent creases where he had spent hours furrowing his brow. Years ago, eleven to be exact, he had been a much younger man, relatively new to the department from Chicago.

Now, he had evolved into a surly older man who looked even older than his actual age. Sometimes, I wondered whether or not that was my fault.

"Batman doesn't come out before sunset." I replied, refusing to use the gravelly growl I usually used. Instead, I went with a much smoother voice, one that would hopefully throw him entirely off the trail.

"Figured." Gordon replied. "What did you need to talk about?"

"There will be two of us today. All black, like I'm wearing now." I informed him. "I need total clearance. I know that Joker is going to push us right to the very edge of our time. I can't afford to be stopped by any police officer. I _won't _be stopped."

I added the growl in at the end of effect.

"I can't do that. I may have deputized Batman a few years ago but I don't even know if you're him."

I had been worried about that. He was afraid that I wasn't who I said I was. It was a problem that I had seen and I was willing to do everything it took to get Jason back. As I began to lift my visor to reveal my identity, Gordon turned around.

"You are him. You would do that for one of your own, wouldn't you? You wouldn't give yourself up, let me know everything to get him back."

_"I can't fail him." _I said, switching the voice of my more powerful alter ego.

Suddenly, Gordon turned back around, a determined look on his face.

"I suppose you won't take a police escort with you." he replied with an aged smirk.

"He'll already know that I'm moving around town. I can't be broadcasting it more than flying around town at 100 MPH will already do."

"Fine." Gordon replied. "Just be careful."

"I always am." I replied as I jumped off the roof in plain sight of him.

* * *

**9:50 PM**

**Gotham City **

**Batman**

Dick and I had spent the last twelve hours driving around town. First, we stopped at Axis Chemicals, the sight of my first "meeting" with the Joker. When I asked the receptionist if a message had been left for me, she reached below the desk and withdrew an envelope. As I expected, I was complete with another message.

This one led us to the Iceberg Lounge, just next door. After a rather brutal encounter with Oswald Cobblepot, we got another message telling us to go to his favorite vacation spot. After a bit of thinking, we finally figured it out.

After racing to Arkham Asylum, we discovered that the new warden of the mental hospital had been tied up with a message written on his forehead. Again, we followed it and discovered another message. For hours, we drove a breakneck speed through downtown Gotham City, searching for the clues that could bring us back to Jason. I could not fail him. I _wouldn't _fail him.

At nine PM, we entered Wayne Enterprises Arena, the location of Joker's attack on Dick's family. Dick had only been able to bring himself to return to the arena a few times over the years and even then only for minutes at a time. However, he walked with me through the front door, striding strongly next to me. To say that I was proud of my oldest son was an understatement. I only wished I could tell him.

We walked to center-court where an envelope was placed over the Gotham Guardians logo. Picking it up, I read it carefully. _  
_

"The guardian of Gotham looks down from his ivory tower and **smiles **on us." I read aloud, noticing that 'smiles' was written much larger than the rest of the text. "Find his home and enjoy the view. P.S. Bats, this is your last one. Hope you make it on time. Wouldn't want you to miss the party."

"The guardian of Gotham?" Dick repeated softly. "What can he mean by that? He can't kn-"

"No. He can't." I agreed. "He must mean something else. Some_one _else."

"Who though? We don't have any other superheroes in Gotham. None that aren't part of The Family anyway."

"Maybe, maybe he doesn't mean a cape." I replied softly. "The guardian of Gotham? Guardian."

Dick and I sat there in the semi-darkness for minutes on end, simply thinking. Finally, I radioed Oracle for help.

"O, do you have any ideas?"

"Sort of, B. What if it isn't the guardian that you need to worry about?" she called over the radio.

"Go on." I encouraged.

"What if it's the ivory tower?" she answered slowly. "Namely, _your _ivory tower. I just checked and The Wayne Foundation provides more money to the homeless and to the police than any other charities combined. You are the Guardian. It's just Bruce Wayne, not Batman."

The moment the words came out of her mouth, the picture focused. I had been so focused on how it related to Batman that I forgot entirely that there is the entire world that lives without a cape and a mask, one that Joker appeared to be playing very well.

Suddenly, I turned to Dick.

"Wayne Tower. We can suit up in the Satellite Cave underneath Wayne Tower."

"About damn time." Dick said as he turned and sprinted out of the arena.

That had been nearly an hour ago. After a quick trip across town, the two of us quickly suited up in the Sat-Cave before emerging and beginning the climb to the top. We thought that Joker would have all of the windows and elevators covered, making the stairs an inconvenient and unexpected move. By the 60th floor, I was wishing that we had chosen to simply fight them out of the elevator.

However, something else bothered me. As we reached the 80th floor, we hadn't seen anyone yet. I knew that we needed to get to the observation deck. When he spoke of "enjoying the view" and we finally put the pieces together, we knew that was where we had to go. However, we were less than twenty floors away and there hadn't been a single person on any of the stairs.

Finally, we reached the 103rd floor. At the top of the stairs were two doors, one leading left and the other right. I looked at Nightwing and indicated that he take the left door. Counting down from three silently on my fingers, I slammed my way through the door, batarangs in hand and ready to attack.

Strangely, there was no one there. Instantly, I raised Nightwing and Oracle on my intercom.

_"Do you see anyone?" _I asked.

"Nope." came Nightwing's reply.

"No. We just assumed there would be a ton of people up there. We never even thought to check."

Quickly, I sprinted around the observation deck until I got the far corner of the room. There, something horrible waited for me. I stopped instantly in my tracks as I slowly approached the object. When I reached it, I leaned down slowly and stared into the viewer of the telescope. What I saw was sickening.

* * *

**9:50 PM**

**? **

**Jason Todd**

WHACK! CRACK! BAM!

Again and again, I felt the punches hit my ribs. Over the last few hours, how many I had no idea, they had been beating me. Usually, they came in for a few minutes at a time and had their way with me. However, they had been hitting me for the last ten minutes, a sign that they were either frustrated or happy. Or both. All I knew was that none of those options were good for me.

"Stop." came the clown's voice.

Instantly, the guards stopped hitting me and stepped aside. Painfully, I lifted my head to see the Joker, still smiling, staring directly at me.

"Gentlemen, I believe that the rest of the script only calls for two men and as the director, I get to choose. But, it's really no contest, is it? Obviously, I am the best actor here. But, little Bird-Brain here comes in a close second, so he'll be staying as well."

"Are you sure, boss?" one of the guards asked nervously.

Suddenly, Joker turned and stabbed him with a knife that he had obviously had hidden on him somewhere. The Joker hooted and hollered as the pupils of his eyes fell limp like the rest of his body and he came crashing to the floor. Then, just as quickly as he had started, he stopped laughing and looked abruptly at the other four guards.

"Do I need to repeat myself?" he growled softly.

He did not. I could hear the four men practically tripping over themselves to get out of there. Once they were gone, Joker disappeared behind me.

"Batman will find me." I said as powerfully as I could with at least two broken ribs.

"Oh, I'm counting on it, my young friend." Joker replied from behind me. "I'm just not sure what shape you'll be in!"

Suddenly, Joker jumped out from behind me with a giant crowbar in his hands.

"Now listen here, kid. This is going to hurt you **a lot **more than this will hurt me." he growled as he raised the crowbar.

Any other time, I would have been expecting Bruce to be waiting in the wings, ready to save me at the last minute. This time, he wasn't there. Instead of being saved by Batman, all I could feel was the Joker slamming my head over and over again with the crowbar.

As he continued to beat me, the chair broke underneath me and I fell to the floor. However, that meant nothing to the Joker. He continued to pound and slam the crowbar against my body, leaving me unable to move or breath.

Suddenly, the world slipped out from under me and I was gone.

* * *

**9:58 PM**

**Batman**

Just as I looked into the viewfinder, Joker began to repeatedly pummel Robin with a crowbar. It was horrifying. Robin had been tied to a chair, probably the same chair he had been tied in on the news. Joker pounded Robin over and over again. The quality of this telescope was amazing and therefore, I could see every excruciating detail. Every time a tooth exploded from his mouth or pieces from his skull blew on the glass window behind.

I stood in horror as the chair collapsed under the pressure. Despite this, Joker continued to beat Robin. A rage filled me as I finally looked away, instead looking at the building itself. I had recently created a new line launcher that could get me from two horizontal points, a problem I regularly had. However, it was still in the test phase and it would take several minutes for the BatJet to deliver it to me.

"How far away is that building?" I asked Nightwing, not even bothering to talk in my normal Bat voice as I pointed at the building Jason was being held in.

"I'm not sure, Bruce." Dick replied, also slipping out of character. "What did you see?"

"You don't want to know." I replied as Dick moved forward to look into the telescope. Quickly, I stuck out my arm and laid it out across his chest, blocking his path. "You _really _don't want to know. Now, how far do you think it is?"

"I'm not sure!" Dick repeated. "At least 900 yards, probably more. Why? What are you doing?"

"Jason's in there." I muttered. "I have to get him out. He'll die if I don't get him out."

"How?"

"Jump out the window. Fall a bit and then try and grapnel onto a building near it. Use the momentum to swing up towards the building. I sure as hell can't glide that far."

"Bruce, this is insane. You'll die too." Dick pleaded with me.

"Listen to him, Bruce." Barbara rang out in my ear. "I just ran the specs. He's being held in the old Powers Building now the St. Cloud Tower. It's 1300 yards away. The speed you would have to get in order to make that jump is totally unsafe. It would tear your arms off. Now, if you call Gordon, I'm sure that he can get a unit over there to secure the building, trapping the Joker inside with Jason."

I thought for a moment as Dick finally made his way around my barricade to look into the telescope.

"It'll take too long." I replied, making my decision. "Joker said something will happen to Jason at ten. If I'm not over there in two minutes, I'm positive that Jason will die."

Suddenly, Dick stood up and looked at me.

"You need to do it. A helicopter just landed on the roof. It's got to be for Joker which means something bad is going to be happening to Jason."

_"Agreed." _I answered, suddenly slipping back into the persona as I walked back across the observation deck and lined up my shot. I grabbed two Batarangs that I had equipped with sonic emitters and threw them at the wall. As they stuck to the wall of glass, the emitters went off, shattering the all the glass in the observation tower.

I walked back to the edge of the now open observation deck and looked at the area around Wayne Tower. I had specifically built new Wayne Tower here because there were no other tall buildings in the area, meaning that we were nearly ten blocks from the nearest building of any size.

"I have to run off the observation deck, glide several blocks before releasing my cape and going into a steep freefall. During this fall, I will need to pick up massive amounts of speed. Towards the end of the fall, I will fire my grapnel at a building several hundred feet ahead of me. Hopefully, I am able to use cape to slow myself down. Otherwise, if the angle is wrong, I will either drop the grapnel, at which point my cape won't be able to slow me down and I'll hit the ground, hard. Or, if I don't drop the grapnel, it will jerk my shoulder out of socket, making it nearly impossible to get to Jason."

"That sounds insane." Barbara replied.

"Do it." Dick said confidently.

I took two calming breaths before resolving myself to do this. I knew that Jason's life hung in the balance. If I didn't do this, then all the work that I did saving that boy from a life on the streets and bringing him into my home. All that work? That would be for nothing.

Finally, I let my fear power me and sprinted towards the edge of the bui-_**BANG!**_

Even from this far away, I could feel the force of the explosion. While it didn't knock me down, it certainly took me back. Terrified of what I might see, I averted my eyes to the floor. I couldn't bear to know. I couldn't know that loss. Not again. Finally braving a look, I raised my eyes.

I raised my eyes.

I raised my eyes to see the top twenty floors of the St. Cloud Tower burning. There was no helicopter on the roof, signifying that in all of the discussion we had had over my plan, he had gotten away.

He had gotten away.

"Bruce?" Barbara said softly over the intercom.

"Don't." I replied. "Just don't say a damn thing."

For what seemed like hours, I stood on the edge of that observation desk, staring as the flames burned higher and higher and knowing that Jason's body was burning in there. Knowing that I had failed him.

As I zoned out, I noticed a sound in my ear. When I finally returned to the world, I noticed that it was Barbara trying to talk to me.

"What is it?" I growled, but in a voice totally different than my normal growl.

"My father just called your emergency number. He said that you need to go to the morgue."

_"Why?" _

"They have Jason's body there."


	17. Part 5: Family

**January 16, 2001**

**6:34 PM**

**Bruce Wayne**

I needed to get away. After Jason's short memorial service, I separated myself from Dick, Alfred and Andrea and wandered around the far corners of Wayne Manor.

As I took a seat in the sitting room furthest from the front of the house, I let my mind go blank, doing everything I could to not focus on what had just happened. I tried to ignore the fact that I had just buried one of my adopted sons and that it had been my fault that he was dead. I hadn't thought that Joker would set me up. That wasn't his style. He had always sought confrontation in the past. To set up a challenge that he knew I would fail at was totally unlike him.

That's when I realized that it wasn't impossible. If I had simply gone in my day attire, rather than suiting up in the cowl, I would have made it in plenty of time to race back across town and get to St. Cloud Tower.

It wasn't impossible and it was my fault.

"There's no use blaming yourself."

I turned in my chair to see Dick standing behind me.

"How long have you been there?" I asked him.

"Long enough." he replied as he walked into the room and sat himself across from me. "You can't change it, Bruce."

"We should have moved faster." I answered softly. "If we had been able to move faster throughout the day, we would have gotten to him fine. We would have gotten him out and we would be getting ready to go on patrols right now."

Dick took a deep breath as he rubbed his temples before looking back up at me.

"I've been meaning to talk to you about that." Dick said quickly as if he was talking quicker, hoping to escape the pain of whatever he was going to say. "You haven't been on patrols since then."

"No, I haven't." I replied grimly, acknowledging the longest healthy break I had taken since I started a little over eleven years ago.

"Why?"

"Excuse me?" I snapped back.

"Why haven't you been on patrols? You've been injured, other people have been killed. That never stopped you before. Why has this?"

Suddenly, a fire, one that had probably been burning since Jason's death, exploded out of me.

"What can we do out there? Not only has crime not dropped in the decade I've been doing this, I've started getting the few people I do give more than two shits about hurt or killed!"

"Bruce, we never did this for you!" Dick replied harshly. "We did this because we believed in what you had started and we wanted to join you. You are not responsible for keeping us from doing dumb things."

"Dumb things? What the hell did he do wrong?" I shot back.

"Did you not forget Jason directly disobeying an order _and _choosing to jump into the window where Joker was situated, along with three incredibly large bodyguards who were armed to the teeth?"

"I should have trained him better." I replied sadly. "I could have suspended him when he started to get more reckless over the past few months."

"Yes, you could have." Dick replied as he sat down next to me. "You could. But, he probably would have kept going out anyway. He was a fireball if we had ever seen a fireball."

This had been the overwhelming voice of my thoughts for the past few days. Had I chosen wrongly? Had Jason been a poor choice for Robin? Should I have simply had him thrown in jail or somewhere where he couldn't get himself hurt?

"He worked so hard to be great. I think life had already destroyed a large part of his moral compass."

"I imagine that it did. Living and working on the streets for as long as he had couldn't have been good for his sanity either. Then, when he heard Joker's men casually discussing the murder of the one man that could have brought him back to normalcy, he snapped."

"He died in a horrible way."

"Any way other than the natural way is horrible, Bruce. I watched as my parents killed themselves so that you would have the opportunity to save me. You watch your dad step in front of your mom to save her. How many times have you given yourself to the possibility of death to step in front of a bullet to help someone?"

"Too many times to count." I said as I began to flash back through as many of those times as I could remember.

"Death sucks, Bruce. Just know that there's nothing that you can do about it. Not all the time."

* * *

**January 17, 2001**

**10:22 AM**

**Bruce Wayne**

**Wayne Enterprises**

After another patrol-less night, I made my way into Gotham City to meet with Lucius Fox, CEO of Wayne Enterprises. As I entered his office, I noticed that he had been working on something.

"What was that?" I asked calmly as I sat down in the chair across from his desk.

"It's not important." he replied softly. "I heard about Jason. I'm so sorry, Bruce."

"Thank you, Lucius. I appreciate it."

"Have you already had a memorial?" he asked nervously.

"Yesterday." I confirmed. "He was laid next to my parents."

"Very appropriate. I hope you aren't taking it too hard."

"I am. I know that I am. But I can't help but blame myself for what happened. If I had only moved faster, I may have gotten to him."

"You mean that you could have also been in the building when it blew skyhigh? Is that what you mean, Bruce?"

"I think I could have gotten to him before the building blew up. In fact, I know that I could have." I replied sharply.

"Think about it, Bruce? Was Dick with you?" he asked as I nodded in confirmation. "Alright. So, if you're right, you go in and get him out. If you're wrong, not only is Jason dead but Batman and Nightwing. This city has survived too long with a Caped Crusader to protect us while we're sleeping. We need you."

Lucius had never spoken about my alter ego other than to scold me for stealing something else out of R&D that he had been working on. To hear him talk so positively about the Batman was a little disarming. However, what he said did ring true in my mind and I knew on some level that he was right. If I had been wrong, there would have been no one other than Barbara left to defend Gotham. While I did trust her, I knew what it was like to try and defend Gotham alone and it was no easy task.

"I appreciate that, Lucius. No, what was that you were working on?"

"A job offer, Mr. Wayne." Lucius replied, reverting back to his normal polite ways.

"What?" I asked in shock.

"I know. It surprised me too. As I'm sure you've seen in the news, the Secretary of Energy that our recently elected President selected recently declined the position so that she could run for Governor of her state. The President has requested that I step in."

"There's a 'but' coming, I can feel it."

"There is. But, in order to take the position, I must disassociate myself with any and all business interests I have."

"You have to resign as CEO." I filled in for him.

"Yes, Mr. Wayne." he replied softly. "While politics have never really been my thing, I do feel that there is some part of me that is interested in this position."

"Is there anything we can do to ensure that you say?" I asked nervously.

I had every right to be nervous. While the name on the front of the company may carry my name, Lucius ran this place. Due to my nightly activities, I usually only made appearances at Wayne Enterprises once or twice a week and sometimes even less than that. Case in point, it had been nine days since I had last been to Wayne Enterprises when I had walked in the door today.

"Possibly." Lucius mused quietly. "There is one project I've been looking to push that the board has been reluctant to agree with."

"What is it?"

"The United States Military is looking for a contractor to research and design prototypes of sonic and laser weapons. While the laser weapons are still a little far out for us, sonic weaponry isn't impossible. Using the right frequencies, we could make what would be akin to a sonic drill that would penetrate the body. Plus, if we create anti-sonic shielding for our own troops, we could make our troops immune to the effects of the weapons."

"What's the catch?" I asked, fairly certain I knew what it was.

"It's going to cost the company 6 billion dollars." Lucius replied sheepishly.

"6 Billion? That's a high price tag. How much would we get paid?"

"1 Billion per shipment. They'll take the first prototype shipment. If they like them, they will immediately purchase the equivalent of 10 Billion dollars worth of weapons and sign a contract labeling Wayne Enterprises as the first contact for any prototypes technologies that they wish to develop for the next 25 years."

"That sounds good." I replied truthfully. "What kind of timeline are we looking at?"

"Seven years for R&D, another 3 years for field testing. We could be looking at the weapons being purchased in 2012 or 2013."

"6 Billion over that time frame? I'm fine with that. Do it. I'll convince the board of it later."

"Are you sure?" Lucius asked, almost speechless. "It's going to be a very bad situation if they don't like what we come up with."

"I know someone who will." I replied cryptically. "Speaking of which, there's something I wanted to talk to you about."

"What's the matter?"

"Other than the obvious, nothing is the matter. However, with Jason's death, I've been thinking a lot and I know that I don't have a will of any kind. Now, I know that you were a lawyer before you joined Wayne Tech. I want you to write up my will."

"Bruce, you aren't even forty."

"Lucius, you know what I do at night. It's not going to be complicated. If I die, Alfred gets the house and any assets that had been given to me by my parents with the exception of Wayne Enterprises. Just enough of my shares will be given to Dick in order to ensure that he is the majority shareholder, the rest will be sold at the next public trading day."

"I guess I can write that up." Lucius replied sullenly.

"You write that up, I'll get you your government project and add 50% to your yearly salary and bonus. Does that keep you here?"

All Lucius did was nod his head, confirming that he would, in fact, remain in Gotham and at Wayne Enterprises.

"Perfect." I said as I stood up. "I'll have my lawyers write you a new contract and send it to you."

"Very well, Mr. Wayne. Oh, and by the way, I noticed that you don't have a single bruise on you for the first time in a long time."

"What's your point?" I said, instantly getting defensive.

"We need the Batman. This whole city does. I understand you may be hesitant to go back out after what happened with Jason. But, I firmly believe that more than any police officer, mayor or corporation, this city needs to Batman."

"I appreciate that." I replied. "Really, I do."

* * *

**11:33 PM**

**Bruce Wayne**

**Batcave**

I had been seated in front of my super-computer, dressed entirely in the BatSuit save the cowl, when I heard his shoes snapping across the floor. I knew that moments later, I was going to hear his voice. Sure enough, the voice of my oldest friend echoed around the cavernous area moment later.

"Master Wayne, if you do not plan on going out this evening, you really should check in for the evening." he said eloquently.

"I can't, Alfred. Dick and Barbara are out on patrols. I can't leave them out there alone." I replied as he approached me with a fresh pot of coffee and a few freshly baked pastries. Normally, I would have scolded him for bringing something so bad for you down to the Cave. Tonight, I wasn't in the mood to scold anyone.

"Master Wayne, if I may be so bold, we both know that unless one of them is in extreme danger, that you will not be going anywhere this evening. Otherwise, you would already be out there."

"What if I go out there and fail them like I did Jason?" I asked, finally truly speaking the terrible thought that had been on my mind for the last week.

"Master Wayne, there is no one here, other than yourself, that believes that you failed Master Todd. He made a horrible and rash decision and unfortunately, there are consequences for our decisions. You did everything that you could to help him avoid those consequences. It was unfortunate that his poor decision-making left him in the hands of the Joker."

"I've never failed like that before."

Suddenly, Alfred pulled a chair next to me and sat down.

"Master Wayne, we all must learn from our failures. I'm positive the thought has crossed your mind that all of the suits need to have tracers in them now."

"It has." I said, glad that someone else had echoed the first thing that had crossed my mind once Jason had been taken.

"You are human, just like anyone else. Certainly, you have trained yourself to avoid mistakes and to be better than the average human. However, that typically means that when you do make a mistake, the results are going to be far more catastrophic than the average person's mistakes. If you cannot live with that, then Batman cannot exist."

Everything my old friend had said made almost too much sense. If you were able to avoid common mistakes, then the only ones left were the big ones. The mistakes I was going to make as Batman were going to be large and they were going to have consequences, just like Jason's had.

"How did you deal with my parents dying, Alfred?" I asked him slowly. "We've always talked about how I dealt with it, how I withdrew from the world and drove myself into my work. But, how did you do it?"

Alfred took a seat at the other chair at the work station. Rubbing circles around his eyes, I finally saw how much he had aged over the years. When I had left Gotham, he had been blessed with a full head of red hair. Now, his hair was thinning and white and his eyes had a permanent aged look that they hadn't had years earlier.

He breathed deeply before he replied.

"I knew that despite losing the greatest friend I had known, I had a responsibility. When you were born, your parents named me your legal guardian in case something happened to them. They made me promise to protect you and to keep you from harm. So, when they were killed, I was heartbroken. But, I couldn't let that stop me from protecting you and taking care of you. I know that I'm not your father, Bruce. But I did everything I could to be one."

Suddenly, I realized what this man had done for me. It wasn't that I had never thought of this before. It was just that the dawning realization of everything that had happened to me so far and everything that I had done and he had been there through all of it.

"You know what's funny?"

"With you, Master Wayne, I can only guess." he said with a dry smile.

"I idolized my father and mother. Everything I do as Batman, I do because they were taken from me. But what's funny is that I was eight when they died. I have a few strong memories of them but other than that, it's mostly a feeling. In fact, the only real vivid memory I have of the two of them is the night they were killed."

"That is terrible." Alfred whispered lowly.

"It's not." I replied. "It's not because I know who they were and I remember how wonderful they were to me. But, I also know that they left me with the most caring man they could, a man who became the closest thing to a father that I ever knew."

"Master Wayne..."

"Alfred, you were there for everything. For the beginning of all this. You were there when I left and you were still here when I got back. You've cared for me when every other person left me after my parent's death."

"I was only doing my job." he replied.

"No, if you were only doing a job, you went above and beyond the call of duty. You are my family, Alfred."

Suddenly, I stood up and drew the cowl over my face. As I walked towards the BatMobile, I turned back to Alfred.

_"Thank you." _

"No thanks are necessary, Master Bruce."

Slowly, I nodded. I knew that our conversation hadn't fixed everything. I was still angry at myself for my mistake. I still burned inside knowing that my arch enemy had taken one of my sons. However, the anger wasn't fixed at myself anymore.

Instead, it was fixed at the Clown Prince of Crime. The Joker would pay for what he had done to Jason.

* * *

**1:02 AM**

**Gotham City**

**Nightwing**

The driving snow had forced me to keep moving all night. Temperatures had been consistently under ten degrees all night and there was the possibility that it was going to get even colder. Fortunately, I had other things on my mind. Since Jason's funeral, Batgirl and I had spent almost half of our nightly patrols seeking information on the Joker. In my mind, not only did the Joker kill my parents but he had killed a friend, someone who I cared about, a brother in arms.

A brother really.

"Nothing on my end." Batgirl said over the intercom into my ear.

"I haven't done much either." I replied. "Broke up a couple fights and a mugging but other than that, there hasn't been much."

"What do you think? Take it in for the night."

"Sounds like a good idea to me."

"Me too." she replied. However, this time the voice didn't come from the intercom. Instead, it came from directly behind me. Jumping a few inches into the air, I turned around and saw Batgirl standing on the rooftop behind me.

"How did you find me?"

"You kept giving descriptions of what you've been doing all night. I could figure out the pattern you were making. You forget that I've been living in Gotham my entire life."

"Like you would let me forget." I replied with a smile.

My relationship with Barbara had really changed over the years. During high school, the two of us had shamelessly flirted with each other but neither of us had chose to make any move. Her excuse was probably that her father was a paranoid police commissioner. My excuse was that my parent was an angry masked vigilante. When we went to college, she and I had moved in together, thinking that we could save some money, despite the fact that I was a millionaire and didn't really need to save money. Privately, I think that both of us hoped that it would push us together.

Unfortunately, the moment I chose to become Nightwing in order to protect Bludhaven, I swore off any kind of relationship. I spent months forcing her away and keeping her an arm's length away until one night, about five months before her debut as Batgirl and six months after her attempted rape, she accidentally walked into my room after one of my bloodier nights. In fact, that night I had gotten stabbed four times. All of the wounds were superficial but they produced enough blood to scare her into running out of the apartment.

When she had finally come back, I had been forced to explain my childhood from my parent's death to my exit from the role of Robin. Rather than being frightened or upset, she told me that she had known for a long time that I had been Robin. However, she had been unaware of my new alter ego, hence her frightened reaction to her walking in on me.

But, it was her next question that had both encouraged me and scared me. She expressed interest in joining me and Batman. I knew that just like Bruce had done with me, it was better to observe and to train than to let her do it on her own and end up getting herself hurt or worse. So, I started training her, going on long runs on the off nights I had given myself during patrols. She had a limited knowledge of combat training but I had taken to creating a more acrobatic style of fighting that would suit her strengths.

Soon enough, I deemed her ready to be tested by Bruce, hence her random appearance in Gotham. While I knew that she wasn't as prepared as I had been when I took my test to become Robin, I also knew that she would be better supervised after her approval than I had been. Bruce had known it as well hence the reason that he had assigned the first several months of her patrols to me.

"You need to do more patrols in Gotham." she said as she sat down next to me.

"I do too many as it is. Gotham has you and Batman to take care of it. Who does Bludhaven have? Tarantula?"

"She seems like she knew what she was doing." Batgirl replied.

"You haven't worked with her." I grumbled as my earpiece suddenly crackled to life.

_"Head to 45th and Nolan." _

No way. It couldn't be that voice. I had been fairly certain that he would be out of commission for quite some time. Not because he wasn't healthy, he was fine, at least on the outside. It was the inside of him that needed working out. I was positive that my conversation with him yesterday had not yielded these results.

"Come again?" I asked in order to confirm that it was him.

_"I have a lead into the Joker's whereabouts. On the corner of 45th and Nolan is The Laughing Matter, a nightclub whose owner mysteriously disappeared last month. No one has seen or heard from him. I've suspected Joker for awhile now but I've had more pressing matters."_

"And now?"

_"He's top priority until I say otherwise." _he replied, his voice almost roaring into my earpiece.

"Understood." I replied before standing up from my perch overlooking 12th Avenue.

We had a long way to go before we got to 45th and Nolan and I knew that he was not going to be in a patient mood tonight. That meant we needed to get moving and now.

Because Batman was back in town.

"Move!" I yelled before leaping off the building and on the rooftop next to me on my way to Batman.

* * *

**January 20**

**12:21 PM**

**The Residence of Andrea Beaumont**

**Bruce Wayne**

She didn't notice me as she closed the door to her apartment and walked into the kitchen, preparing to put away a few of the things she had purchased at her favorite farmer's market down the street. Slowly, I followed her until I silently stood in the doorway, watching her put her vegetables in the refrigerator. Finally, I couldn't stand the wait any longer and broke the silence.

"Andrea."

I had the effect I had on everyone I was able to sneak up on. Instantly, she jumped in place and turned, clutching at her chest in fear. Once she recognized me, she smiled frightfully and walked across her small kitchen before smacking me in the chest and hugging me.

"Bruce, you scared me half to death!" she nearly yelled in my ear.

"I know." I said with a smile.

"How did you get in?" she asked she broke away from me.

A simple look gave her the answer she was looking for.

"Which window?" she asked pointedly.

"The small one in the bathroom." I said as I turned and took a seat in the living room.

"I didn't think it was big enough for you." she replied.

"You'd be surprised what a master of escape can get themselves in, and out, of."

Once she finished putting her groceries away, she took a seat across from me.

"I haven't seen you since the memorial. How are you doing?" she asked with concern.

"Fine." I answered shortly. "I went on patrols last night."

"I heard. You were spotted by a news chopper."

"What do you mean?" I asked in confusion.

"Well, your absence has been noticed." she said plainly. "When no criminals get strung up for six days, people notice."

"Nightwing and Batgirl were still out there."

"Well, apparently they choose to tie them up on the ground rather than in the air and someone noticed the pattern."

To think that there were people out there who made it their business to tell whether the criminals that we caught were tied up in the air or on the ground. I'm sure that those people had better and more constructive things to do with their business.

"I don't mean to be blunt, Bruce, but what are you doing here? It's not like you to stop by unannounced."

"Before I tell you, I have a story to tell you. It will give you a better idea." I replied as I turned to face her. "Last night, I had a conversation with Alfred. He said something to me that really made me think. He told me that since I had trained myself to be better than most people, my mistakes were larger than most people. We talked about a lot of things including Jason. In the end, he made me realize that while I may be an orphan, I still had a family."

I couldn't believe I was actually saying this. I had been terrible with expressing myself over the years, choosing to accept it as a penalty of my alter ego and a sign of weakness. The fact that I was opening up to someone who had never lived with me was shocking to me.

"Dick is my family, legally even, although I'm not entirely sure that he knows it. Jason was my family, I adopted him. Alfred is my family. He is. I came to the realization that Alfred is the only father I've ever known. I've never let anyone in and I've never allowed anyone to truly be close to me."

"It doesn't have to be like that." Andrea replied as she took my hand in hers. "We are all here for you."

"I know. That's why I'm here, Andy. I'm here because I'm done allowing myself to push everyone away. For those of you who know my alter ego, you know that I can never let that go. But, I also can't forget that I can't allow Batman to crush Bruce Wayne. Like I told you before, Bruce Wayne doesn't exist without Batman."

"I'm happy that you've realized that." Andy said honestly. "I'm still confused as to why you needed to break into my apartment to tell me this."

"I told you that I realized that my mistakes are often larger than most. I made a mistake with you."

"What?" she replied in shock.

"I've kept you at arm's length for years, keeping you in my life but without letting you in. You've never even seen the Cave. That all needs to change. You need to see it because you are my family." I said, suddenly realizing that my hands were shaking.

"What are you saying, Bruce?" she asked nervously.

"I'm asking you to be with me, Andy." I answered her as I sank from the couch to one knee on the floor. Once there, I withdrew the ring that had belonged to my mother from my pocket and placed it in front of her.

"I'm asking you to marry me. Will you, Andrea, marry me?"

Silence overtook the room for a moment before Andrea broke into a huge smile.

"YES!"

Suddenly, Andrea tackled me to the ground and embraced me on the floor. I relished the smell of her fiery red hair as it flowed in my face before she pulled away and looked me in the eye.

"Of course I will marry you." she said before she leaned down and kissed me.

In that moment, I was the happiest man in the world.

* * *

**?**

**?**

**?**

**?**

I had been summoned. Finally, the time for me to prove myself had come. As I entered his chambers, I let my massive frame fall to the floor as I knelt before his wonder. While I was much larger and stronger than he, I had come to understand that he was the most powerful man I had ever met and that it would be he would lead me to my great adversary.

"My lord, I serve only you."

"Good." came the silky voice of the elderly man on the throne in front of me. "As you no doubt have guessed, the time is now."

"Tell me what to do, my lord."

"I shall go to his home. My daughter has been in Gotham for months and she tells me that his home will be easy to enter, assuming he does expect us, which he will not. When we are there, I will ask him to join me. While you are a worthy student, he was intended to be my successor. However, The Detective has been stubborn. I am sure that he will decline. When he does, you are to engage him and kill him."

"I will, my lord. The Batman will fall by my hands and I will succeed you when the world is yours."

"I have kept the identity of The Detective a secret from you. Before you kill him, you must discover his identity and attack him in his home. Only then will you be able to beat him."

"I will doe exactly as you ask."

"Good. Now, go to your quarters and rest. Prepare yourself to become the Dark Knight's bane."

"And his bane I shall be, my lord Ra's Al Ghul."

**TO BE CONTINUED IN "THE LEGACY: KNIGHTFALL"**


End file.
